What Makes A Father
by JMS529
Summary: During a takedown Seth is injured and Marshall learns that he's not Seth's son. Marshall's search for who he is puts him in danger with his mother and biological fathers' past. AU after Son of Mann.
1. Chapter 1

Marshall swiped himself into the office and sat down at his desk. After his computer booted up, he began to look over his email. Stan's was talking to someone in his office and when he heard the unexpected voice he looked up in surprise.

A half hour later the door to Stan's office opened and the two men came out and headed towards his desk.

"Dad, I didn't know that you were coming here."

"We had a fugitive that we've been chasing and he headed here to meet up with an old friend. My team is here to bring him in and I asked Stan if I could borrow you and Mary for the take down."

"Since we're slow, I told Seth that the two of you could help him," Stan replied, just as the elevators opened up to reveal Mary.

"Seth, to what do we owe this distinctive pleasure?" Mary asked, surprised to see him in their office. Marshall never mentioned him coming and by the look on her partner's face he hadn't known.

Seth explained the situation to Mary before they moved into the conference room to go over the plans to bring the suspect in.

"Be careful and come back in one piece," Stan said, looking at Mary and Marshall.

"Yes, Dad," Mary replied, sarcastically, while following Marshall and Seth into the conference room.

"So what are we dealing with, Dad?" Marshall asked, now that Mary entered the conference room.

"Our fugitive's name is Max Carter. He was arrested for six accounts of murder and two accounts of attempted murder of federal agents. Carter should be considered armed and dangerous. He has no intention of going back to prison and if backed into the corner will come out with guns blazing. His friend's name is Harry Welsh and has been arrested in the past on gun smuggling and dealing. We're pretty sure Max is getting ready to load up on weapons if he hasn't already. Harry lives here in Albuquerque."

"What's the plan?" Mary asked Seth.

"We're going to storm the house and arrest both Carter and Welsh," Seth started, while rolling out the layout of the house and front and backyards. "Leo, Greg, Blaine and I will take the front entrance. Cheryl, Landon, Marshall and you will take the back entrance. Marshall, I want you to be ready for any runners. You're the fastest runner we've got."

Seth laid out the rest of the plan before the three of them headed out.

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Mary felt a sense of déjà vu with her sitting in the backseat of Marshall's SUV with Seth, the master of all knowledge of Marshall's most embarrassing moments; in the front seat. There was no way that she wasn't going to try and get some dirt again.

"So Seth, I do believe that last time you were here that I never received an answer to my questions about your eldest son. Just a little information would prove to be invaluable."

Marshall rolled his eyes at Mary's attempt to once again find out about his past.

Seth fought the smirk that wanted to form on his face at Mary's question. She was nothing if not persistent. It amused him, but since his last visit, he and Marshall had started to make a dent in their awkward relationship and he didn't want to risk destroying any progress they made.

"What ever gave you the impression I had any intention of telling you that information?" Seth asked, unable to hide the amusement in his voice.

"After all I did for you, you're going to give me the silent treatment? Just one little piece of dirt," Mary said.

"We're here," Seth replied, having Marshall pull up behind Leo.

"Marshall, good to see you again," Leo said, as he watched his partners son get out of the SUV.

"Likewise, Leo. This is my partner, Mary."

"Nice to meet you." Leo said, reaching out to shake her hand while turning his attention back to Seth. "Are they up to speed on what we're doing?"

"Yeah, I debriefed them at the office. What's the current status of our man?"

"Last visual showed both Carter and Welsh in the house. The two seemed to be arguing about something and are in the living room at the moment. I have the rest of the team in place."

"Then let's do this," Seth replied, signaling for Mary and Marshall to head towards the back of the house.

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Marshall positioned himself behind an Emory Oak tree with a clear site to the back door. Mary was across from him behind a similar tree. Cheryl and Landon positioned themselves to the right and left of the backdoor. They were all waiting on word from his Dad.

"Team one is in position," Seth's voice came through their earpieces.

"Team two is in position," Landon confirmed.

"We're going in on one. Three, Two, One," Seth said.

Marshall listened as the sound of U.S. Marshal's came through the ear piece and a call came out that they had runners coming out the back.

Cheryl had the first one down on the ground and was cuffing him as another ran out and Landon moved in to take him down. Mary and Marshall began to move forward when Landon got plowed over by three more men rushing out of the back door. Mary got the first one, while Cheryl and Marshall grabbed the other two.

"We have a runner coming around the side of the building," Leo called out.

Marshall saw the man running past them between the house and the garage after he'd cuffed his suspect.

"On it," Marshall replied chasing after the man. It was as he began to pursue the suspect he heard the sound of gunfire erupt from inside the house followed by a call out of officer down.

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Mary, Cheryl and Landon secured the prisoners. Landon took one look at Mary and the way her eyes moved towards the last location where Marshall had begun to pursue the remaining suspect.

"Go backup Marshall," Landon said, while they all focused on what they were doing very aware of the call about an officer down.

"Thanks. Marshall, what's your location?"

Mary could hear the heavier breathing as he relayed his location.

"Get the SUV, Mare."

"Alright, just keep giving me your location."

"We're headed towards Manzano Mesa Park."

"On my way," Mary replied, flooring the car towards Marshall's direction.

Mary slammed the brakes as she saw Marshall chasing the suspect and tackling him to the ground. Getting out of the car she ran over to where Marshall was currently handcuffing the suspect while reading him his rights.

"You alright?" Mary asked.

"I'm fine, but I might have to have my brakes and tires checked out," Marshall said, pulling the suspect up while smirking at Mary.

"Your precious automobile is just fine."

"Who was the injured officer?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure your Dad will tell us when we bring this scumbag back."

Heading back to the house, Marshall parked the car and they handed the suspect over to the nearest police officer. Looking around, he didn't see his Dad, so he began to look for Leo. Seeing his Dad's partner just off the porch, he approached the man.

"Leo, where's my Dad?"

"Marshall, you need to head to the hospital. Mary you drive him there and use the sirens if you have to," Leo said, looking at Mary to confirm that she would drive.

Marshall felt sick and numb at the same time.

"What happened to my Dad? Leo, what happened?"

"Seth was the officer that was shot. He's lost a lot of blood. I've called your mother and they've notified the blood bank in Topeka that they may need some of the blood he's donated for himself. Your brothers have also been informed and are on the way."

Mary was squeezing her partners shoulder trying to give him what little support she could while trying to figure out what the issue was with the blood bank. Right now though it didn't really matter, the only thing that mattered was getting Marshall to the hospital. She'd ask later.

"Marshall, let's get you to the hospital. Give me the keys."

He turned around and Mary wanted to protect him from all of this when she saw the fear in his eyes.

"I wasn't here," Marshall whispered.

"You were doing your job, just like Seth would have wanted you to do. There was no way that you could have known it was him. Let's go to the hospital."

Marshall nodded and followed Mary blindly to the SUV. Nothing seemed real at the moment.

Mary took one look at Marshall and then called Stan. Marshall was going to need all the support he could get.

"McQueen."

"Stan, Seth was shot and taken to the hospital. Marshall and I are on our way there right now. We don't know how bad it was because we were chasing down a suspect. He was already taken by ambulance by the time we arrived. They called his family."

"How's Marshall?"

"Not good."

"I'll meet you at the hospital. Mary, stay with him."

"I had no intention of leaving him."

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Mary had managed to convince the nurse to give them a private waiting room. Marshall had sat motionless the first hour before he began pacing the length of the floor. Having enough she stood up and blocked his path.

"Marshall, look at me. You need to sit down and wait. I know that you're worried, but the doctor is doing everything they can to help your Dad."

Marshall was about to answer when the door opened up and he saw his two brothers walk in.

"Neal, Danny, how did you get here so soon?" Marshall asked, surprised.

"We were in Phoenix at a seminar when they called. Mom's flight from Dallas should arrive in another hour. How's Dad? What happened?"

"We're still waiting to here on his condition," Marshall replied.

"How did he get shot and how bad was it when they loaded him into the ambulance?" Neal asked

"Leo said he lost a lot of blood. They're transporting some of the stuff he's donated for himself here."

"Leo said, weren't you with Dad?" Danny asked.

"I was chasing down a suspect. They didn't call officer down until I was already in pursuit."

"Marshall, it wasn't your fault. You didn't know. You were doing your job just as Seth would've wanted you to," Mary said, glaring at his brothers.

"We weren't implying he wasn't. We were just surprised that he wasn't there. It's not an accusation, Miss…" Neal stopped not knowing who she was.

"Mary. Just call me, Mary."

They were interrupted by the door opening again. This time it was a nurse coming in.

"Excuse me are you the family for Mr. Mann?"

"Yes," Danny answered.

"We need to give your father more blood and can't wait for the supply that's coming in. Do any of you have the same blood type as your father?"

All three looked at each other. They knew their Dad has a rare blood type, but none of them had ever found out if they had the same thing.

"We've never been tested."

"Would you be willing to be checked?" the nurse asked.

All three men nodded in acknowledgment.

"Would you please come with me?"

The three brothers went to leave, but Marshall stopped before walking out the door.

"Mare, if my Mom gets here before we're back, could you let her know where we went. I know you don't do feelings well, but I need you to keep an eye on her for me. Just until I get back. I promise."

"Marshall, you don't even need to ask. Go and get tested. I'll take care of everything else."

"Thanks, Mare."

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The three men were back in the room before their Mom arrived. They waiting on the results of their blood test.

"Why can't they give him the universal one?" Mary asked Marshall.

"With his blood type you can only use the same type or it could kill him. That's why he is on the rare blood type list and donates his own blood. They freeze it in order to save it in case it's needed."

"Why haven't you been tested before? If you have it, don't you think it would be a good idea to know?" Mary asked.

"I don't know. Mom and Dad never pushed for it, so I guess we never thought much about it," Marshall admitted.

"Damn it, Marshall. I swear if you have this then your sorry ass is going to be donating and on that list," Mary said heatedly.

Marshall noted the slight amusement on his brothers' faces and glared at them.

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Stan walked in with his Mom at the same time the nurse appeared. The three brothers stood up and looked at her anxiously.

"Neal and Danny, if you could come with me we would like to start taking some of your blood for your Mr. Mann. It should be enough to last until the blood arrives."

Marshall looked at the nurse stunned. "I'm not a match?"

"We double checked, but with Mr. Mann not being your biological father, the odds were slim to none at best," the nurse replied, before hearing the gasp from the older woman in the room and the shocked look on the rest of the groups faces.

"What do you mean, not being his biological son? I tested when I was eight and the results showed that I was," Marshall said.

"I'm sorry, but we retested because we thought they sent us the wrong information. The lab put a rush and did a DNA and verified the sample of your blood didn't match. I'm sorry, but we really need to get blood for your Dad's transfusion."

"Mom?" Neal and Danny said, unsure what to do. The look on Marshall's face alone worried them.

"Go help your father. We'll discuss this later," Haley said to her younger sons. Her focus though was on Marshall.

The look of confusion and pain scared her almost as much as telling him the truth. She couldn't do that, at least not until Seth was awake. She had to protect Marshall and know that it was safe to tell him. She knew it would cause problems, but she had no choice. Protecting her son was the most important responsibility that she had to do. No matter what it cost her.

Once the Neal and Danny left with the nurse, the silence in the room became deafening. Mary and Stan stood stunned on the opposite side of the room. Neither of them knowing what to do.

"Marshall," Haley started to reach out for his arm, but he pulled it away before backing up from her.

"What the hell is going on? What did she mean that he's not my father? Did you have an affair? Is that why I was never enough for him? Who the hell am I?" Marshall yelled at his Mom.

Stan and Mary moved in to try and calm Marshall down, but he pulled away from them too.

"Son, I know you want answers, but I can't give them to you right now, at least not all of them. I never cheated on your father," Haley said trying to keep her voice steady and calm hoping it would help Marshall relax.

"Are you really my mother?"

"Yes, I am."

"Who's my father?"

"As far as I'm concerned Seth Mann has always been and will always be your father."

"Yet, we all now know that's a lie. I trusted you for all of these years. You were the one person that I could count on to listen and be there for me. It was all a lie. Every single day of my life both of you looked me in the face and lied to me."

"Marshall, I know you're hurt and confused and when you're father wakes up we can discuss this with you, but until then you're just going to have to trust me when I say what we did was in your best interest."

"Trust you. You want me to trust you? How the hell am I supposed to do that? Why do you have to wait for Seth Mann to wake up for? He's not my father; the proof is in the test. I want to know who I am."

"You're my son and that is all I'm saying on that topic. Let it go for now, Marshall. Let's concentrate on Seth getting better and then we'll sit down and discuss this rationally."

"I guess we'll have to take a test to prove that you're my mother. How do I know that's the truth? Should I just take your word on that? We both know now just how good your word is," Marshall replied, before storming out of the room.

"Marshall!" Haley called out, but he either didn't hear or chose not to. "Mary, could you please…"

"Already on it. You might want to consider changing your mind about hiding the facts from him or you could lose him forever. I don't mean to be cruel, but you just stripped him of everything he's ever been and known. Marshall was proud of who he was and you took that away from him," Mary said, before racing out into the hallway to find her partner.


	2. Chapter 2

Marshall had made it to the entrance of the E.R. before he felt the tears stinging his eyes. Moving swiftly he exited the hospital and ran to the SUV. Climbing into it he turned it on and left the parking lot, not noticing Mary come running out the doors.

He drove around Albuquerque, before finally having to pull over as his vision was blurred by the tears that had begun to pour down his cheeks. Taking several deep breaths he got his emotions in check and headed to a hotel. Someone would end up going to his house and he wasn't ready to deal with anyone right now.

Checking into the hotel, he headed up to his room and tossed his away bag on the second bed. Lying down, he stared at the ceiling. The constant vibrating of his phone ignored. He let his mind drift back to Topeka, Kansas and the saliva test he taken when he was eight years old.

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_He had slammed his bedroom door and paced back and forth across the wooden floor trying to get his temper under control before he said something else that his father would give the failure report card for. Nothing he ever did was good enough for him. _

_The more he paced the more he contemplated the two of them. They were nothing alike. His father was cold, liked football, was tough and not interested in anything that he was. He was studious, curious, liked baseball, the clarinet and reading. There's no way they could be related. _

_With that thought in mind, he put a plan together to prove that he wasn't related. They couldn't be that different and be father and son. Dad fussed more over Neal and Danny. Neal was six and Danny was four. They seemed to be more like what his Dad wanted. He knew when he was that age his father hadn't been that close with him and never tried to show him how to play the sports like he was trying to teach Neal and Danny. _

_There was one way he could prove that. He just needed his Dad's and his saliva and a package to send it in to a lab to confirm his suspicions. There was a mailbox he could send it into the lab on the way home from school and the mail arrived after his Dad left for work and he was responsible for bringing it into the house. _

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_Marshall felt his heart pounding as he hid the kit in his backpack. Entering the house he was surprised to see his Dad sitting in the chair. He wasn't supposed to get home this early. Trying to keep his worry hidden, Marshall greeted his father before heading to his room. _

_Once in the room, he ripped the first test open and read the instructions carefully twice. He didn't want to do this wrong as he only ordered two kits just in case he messed one up. Taking out the one swab he swabbed his mouth the way the instructions said. He finished with his and put it in the envelope. Now he just had to figure out how to get his Dad's. Taking the second swab he hid it in his pocket and made his way to the living room. _

_Walking into the living room, Marshall noticed his Dad finishing a glass of iced tea. _

"_Dad, would you like me to take that into the kitchen or get you another glass?"_

"_Another glass would be great, son." _

_Marshall took the glass and went into the kitchen. Pulling the swab out of the back of his pocket he quickly set to work. _

/\\

Marshall thought back to the test. He had done everything right. He knew he did. The instructions were easy enough to follow, but how did it come back a match if he wasn't Seth's?

None of this made sense. If he wasn't a Mann then who was he and where was his biological father? Why would they lie to him? Would his brothers still want him around or now that the truth was out would he forever be an outsider?

The more he found himself wondering what would happen to him the more upset he became. A sob escaped before he could stop it and he cried himself into a fitful sleep.

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Mary had watched Marshall speed out of the hospital parking lot and ran back into the waiting room to get Stan's keys. Getting into the SUV she drove over to Marshall's house. Not seeing his car there she continued to the Sunshine building.

She was beginning to get pissed off when she couldn't find him at any of the usual places his cell continued to go into voicemail. She knew he was upset, but at this point she was getting really worried.

Finally, running out of options she headed back to the office and was surprised to find Stan back.

"What are you doing here?"

"I figured Haley and her sons needed some time alone. Why aren't you with Marshall?"

"Because I haven't been able to find him yet."

"What do you mean you can't find him?" Stan demanded.

"I've been everywhere we normally go. I came back here to run a trace on his phone. If I'd known you were here I would still be driving around letting you do the trace," Mary said, watching Stan begin typing on the computer.

Stan continued to work on tracing Marshall's phone. He was worried about him. The news was earth shattering to say the least.

"Did Haley say anything to you after I left?" Mary asked.

"No, I have a feeling she won't either. There's a lot more to this story then meets the eye. I've known Seth for a long time. He wouldn't keep this kind of information from Marshall without a reason. While I realize they don't understand each other, Seth loves him. Haley does too and for them to betray him this way concerns me."

"Why?"

"Mary, the one thing I've learned over the years is that parents will do anything they have to in order to protect their children. The question is what are they protecting Marshall from? Why did they feel it was so important to lie to him even when he became old enough to understand anything they could tell him?"

"Marshall is going to want answers, Stan. Right now he's obviously hurting and for very good reason, but he'll need to know who he is, where he comes from and why the deceit."

"I'm hoping to get some of that information for him. I don't want it advertised that we're looking into his parents past. If they're protecting him then I don't want to do something that has the potential to cause Marshall harm."

"I don't like this, Stan. What the hell could be bad enough to hide the truth from someone like Marshall? Why not tell him the truth?"

"He's at the Marriott by the airport. Do whatever you have to get him to let you in. I want you with him for now. I don't want him alone more than he has to be. Take whatever time you need off. Tell Marshall the same thing and let him know to call if he needs me."

"There's a good chance he's going to want to come to work so that he can keep himself busy."

"Mary, he's not in the right state of mind to be working. I don't want him out in the field. The best I would offer is desk duty until I'm comfortable with how he's doing."

Mary nodded in acknowledgment. Marshall wouldn't like it, but she could see Stan's point. It could cause him, her or a witness to get hurt or killed. Somehow she figured it would be him. Marshall was too careful with her and their witnesses.

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Haley sat in the waiting room with Danny and Neal. Neither of her sons had said anything after asking where Marshall was. The tension in the room was thick, but she knew the silence wouldn't last.

"When did you cheat on Dad?" Neal demanded.

"I didn't," Haley replied, calmly.

"Then why isn't Dad his father?" Danny chimed in.

"You boys are going to have to wait for the answers to what is happening. Your father and I need to talk to Marshall before telling you. Marshall has the right to hear this first or if he wants Seth and I will tell all of you at the same time. The decision is your brother's."

"Waiting seems to be a popular reply with you. How the hell could you lie to Marshall for all of these years? You know how proud he was to be a fifth generation Marshal and now he doesn't have a clue who he is. Dad and you had better have one hell of a good explanation for all of this, because Marshall has our support way before the two of you," Neal said, angrily. He may not be as close to Marshall as he should be, but he was still his brother. No one, deserved this kind of betrayal especially Marshall.

"Don't take that tone with me, Neal. I am still your mother."

"Are you Marshall's?" Danny asked.

"Yes, I am," Haley answered, heatedly. "How dare you question that?"

"How could we not? You lied all of these years about Dad. What you did was beyond cruel to Marshall. He's the most sensitive of all of us. You just shattered his world," Neal said, angrily.

"You think I don't know that your father and I hurt him. Trust me, I know the kind of damage that we've done, but there is a good reason for it and when the timing is right we will tell you. Your father and I have always done everything for the three of you," Haley replied, but the conversation ended as the doctor walked into the waiting room.

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Mary flashed her badge at the counter and bullied the check-in clerk until she not only had Marshall's room number, but also a key to the room. Getting into the elevator she impatiently waited to get to his floor. She had never been so worried about anyone before, but then again she had never seen a lie of this caliber told. Marshall of all people didn't deserve this. He was the kindest person she'd ever known.

Her opinion on Marshall was probably a little biased, but she didn't care. He was to her the last of a dying breed. She always hoped he would some day find someone to continue that tradition with. Right now though she needed to be here for him, to turn the tables in their relationship. This was her time to be the friend Marshall so desperately needed.

When the elevator finally reached the floor, Mary quickly checked the signs for the room locations and hurried down the hallway. Finally finding his room number, she knocked. She wanted to give him the chance to answer, but if he didn't soon she was going in.

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Marshall woke startled by a knock on his door. Knowing it could only be one of two people; he got up and looked through the peep hole before unlocking the door.

Mary entered he room when Marshall stepped aside. His eyes were red from crying she assumed and his shoulders seemed slumped in defeat. She did the only thing she could think of.

Marshall hadn't been oblivious to Mary's watching him, but when she wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly he clung to her for dear life.

"Oh, Marshall…" Mary started, but stopped as the first sob escaped her partner.

He fought so hard to keep the pain buried knowing Mary wasn't one for emotional scenes, but he couldn't keep it in. His heart was shattered and it hurt more than he ever imagined anything could.

Mary moved them to the bed. She had a feeling Marshall would wear himself out from this release. How many others did he have before she arrived? He shouldn't have been alone to deal with this. She should have moved faster to get to him.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch up to you before you left the hospital. I'm here now and I'm not leaving. Whatever you need and for however long you need it, I'll be it. Just tell me what you need. Let me be the strong one for you," Mary whispered, hoping Marshall heard her.

"I need you to stay. Promise me that you'll stay and never lie to me. There has to be someone I can still trust," Marshall choked out.

"Lay down and I'll get us a blanket."

Marshall did as Mary requested. He felt so lost and his mind was still spinning out of control. A part of him was still trying to figure out how he couldn't be Seth's son. The test was mailed off. There were so many questions he needed answers to.

Mary could tell Marshall was overwhelmed with all the thoughts that must be going through his mind. He was a thinker as it was, but this would short circuit his brain. Sliding in next to him she spread the blanket over him before curling into his side. Reaching over his waist she found his hand and intertwined their fingers. Her other free hand stroked his hair gently, hoping to ease some of his tension.

"Marshall, please just let it go for tonight. It's a lot of information to take in and I know that you've been hurt and betrayed, but you need to rest to clear your head."

"I can't let it go, Mare."

"I don't mean permanently. You have every right to get the answers you need, but we won't have them tonight. Just close your eyes and try to sleep. I'm here for you. Stan's going to stop by tomorrow, but told me to tell you to call him if you need him."

"Stan always was more of a father to me then Seth. I guess we now know why," Marshall said, bitterly.

"If I could take away your pain I would. You're one of the few people I would do that for."

"I'm a stranger to myself, Mare. Why would you even want to help me?"

"You're still my Marshall and nothing is ever going to change that. You're still the same person you were when you got up this morning, a week ago and the first time we met. This doesn't change anything."

"It changes everything. Who am I, Mare?"

"I swear to you that I will help you find out, but you have to remember that it may change your genealogy, but it doesn't change who you are."

"Don't leave me."

Mary's heart broke at the fear in Marshall's voice of being abandoned by her. She and Stan were going to be the two people he could trust. They had to protect that honor at all cost.

"I won't leave you. We're partners and best friends. Nothing is going to stop me from being here. Just please try and sleep. I'll be here when you wake up, I promise."

Mary ran her fingertips in smooth circles across his chest trying to do something to ease his tension enough so that he could get some much needed sleep. When he finally drifted off she lay her head on his chest and held him close. While she may not be a big fan of the whole physically touchy feely crap, Marshall was and if it offered him even the slightest of comfort, she would gladly hold him for as long as he needed. With that thought she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

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Stan was in the office using Marshall's files to start digging into Haley and Seth's past. He figured the easiest place to start would be the birth certificate. Knowing Marshall had spent his childhood in Topeka, he decided to start there.

Finally tracing Marshall back to the hospital he was born at and checking Haley's maiden name of Sinclair he managed to find the certificate. Seth was listed as the father. He took Haley's information that Marshall had on his next of kin paperwork and began to search for Haley Sinclair who was born in Atlanta, Georgia.

Stan got a message with no results found when his phone rang.

"McQueen."

"This is Director Pearson. What are you doing investigating Haley Mann?"

Stan had a bad feeling about this. "I'm trying to help Inspector Mann get some answers. No Government funds are being used to do this and it's being done off hours."

"You are to stop searching into Haley Mann's past. Do I make myself clear?"

"With all due respect, Director unless we're using government access, you can't tell me to stop helping Marshall. If it's not me it will be him and Mary. Since we're not breaking any rules or laws by searching this way, I don't see how this is any of your business. Unless you care to explain why."

Allison glared at the phone knowing full well that he was right. She had even argued the point when Inspector Cal Wilkens called her about it.

"I can't force you to, but I'm telling you to stop for everyone's sake. I'm not at liberty to explain the situation. Tell Inspector Mann that his parents will explain it to them when they can. Leave it alone."

"How much danger is Marshall in? Don't tell me you can't answer that because we both know that you can. This conversation wouldn't even be taking place if there was not some kind of threat to Marshall or his mother. I'm not in the mood for playing games with you, Director. There is no way that Marshall will stop without having his answers. He needs to know who he is and where he comes from. In time, he'll realize that Seth is his father for all practical purposes, but until that happens nothing and I mean nothing will stop him from looking."

"Keep your people under control Chief," Allison said, before hanging up the phone.

Stan glared at it. This wasn't a simple mistake that someone was trying to hide. There was a larger picture and Marshall and Haley were the focal points. Either his search caused a red flag or Haley called someone.

There was only one person Stan could trust to search without being caught. Opening his cell he hit speed dial three.

"Prince."

"Eleanor, I need a huge favor and it has to be done very discreetly and without causing red flags or bringing down the U.S. Marshal Service on you."

"What did Mary do?"

"It's not Mary," Stan replied, and filled Eleanor in on the current situation.

"I'll call you as soon as I tap my sources. How's Marshall?"

"As well as can be expected after finding out your entire life was a lie," Stan fumed.

"Make sure you and Mary don't lie to him. He needs you to stand by him and I don't think he could handle anyone else betraying his trust."

"I already warned Mary. Be careful Eleanor."

"You too. Take care of Marshall."

"I will."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Haley left her sons sitting with Seth while she went to find somewhere private to make her phone call.

"Wilkens."

"Is it taken care of?" Haley asked.

"We've called the Director to put an end to their searching through your past, but legally they can still keep looking and know it. According to her, she told them to back off. I have the impression that she wasn't convinced that they would stop looking."

"They need to stop. If Victor's men find out that I'm alive and had Carson's son they'll come after Marshall for revenge. They'll hurt or kill him to make the point that no matter how much time passes they'll eventually find whoever they're after and make them or their family pay."

"We're in the process of doing a threat assessment. We don't even know if they're still looking for you. Haley Brooks was positively identified as the body found in the car that exploded when it went off the cliff in Park City, Utah. It was ruled a suicide because she couldn't deal with the loss of her husband. We wiped out all traces of Haley and Carson Fisher."

"I hope you're right. Victor can't get his hands on my son. I won't let him hurt Marshall. The others would be safe, but not Marshall. You find a way to keep us safe. You promised that there was no way to link the past and present, but it seems like they're both about to collide."

"I don't have any control over the fact that you chose to keep your son in the dark. If you had told him from the beginning you wouldn't be in this predicament. Seth knew better. He may not have liked WITSEC, but he had seen enough before marrying you. Victor probably wouldn't even know Marshall was Carson's. He'd probably think you and Seth had an affair while Carson was still alive. How you managed to marry Carson, I will never know."

"I was young, foolish and blindly in love. He'd been charming, sweet and not always a criminal. He wanted to make a life for us; he chose the wrong way and couldn't go back. Later he got used to the money coming in and wanted more. That greed caused him to break the rules of WITSEC and in return he ended up dead."

"We're rehashing the past. I'll keep in touch and let you know what I find out. Talk to your son and tell him the truth. It's long overdue and the easiest way to try and keep things under wraps."

"I want Seth to be there when we tell Marshall. It's the best way to do that."

"Not if it puts you or your son in danger. Think about what we've said and don't forget what kind of person Victor is."

Haley hung up and stared at the wall. She needed Seth more than ever before. Cal had a valid point, but she had promised Seth that they would tell Marshall together if they ever did. She would give him until tomorrow before finding Marshall and telling him about his past.


	3. Chapter 3

Neal and Danny stared at their father lying in the hospital bed looking paler then anytime they could ever recall. The two were both confused to how they felt about things. They loved their parents and Marshall. This though was the one thing that could destroy their family.

The doctor at least told them their father would make a full recovery barring no complications. They had to remove his spleen and fix the laceration in his liver.

"What do you think is going on?" Danny asked, Neal.

"I don't know. Mom and Dad never do anything without a reason. Mom seems to be very concerned about the revelation, but stubborn enough not to mention why until Dad wakes up. Hopefully, that will be soon because they both owe Marshall one hell of an explanation."

"I wonder what will happen when this is all over. I know that you and I aren't good at keeping in touch with Marshall, but I'm not willing to lose my brother because of a secret our parents decided to keep. We need to go see him and make sure he knows that we're still here for him."

"I doubt that he's returned home. He's probably somewhere that we won't find him. I'm thinking that we'll need to contact Stan or Mary. Right now they're the only people that he knows he can trust."

"Marshall has to know we'd be there for him. This doesn't change anything."

"In his mind it changes everything. By the way, I do think he'll question his standing with us. We've been closer to Dad then he ever was. Dad is going to be on the brunt end of this. Not that I believe Mom will get off easy, but Marshall has always questioned Dad's feelings towards him."

"Dad spent more time trying to change him then being his father. He never tried to get to know Marshall for who he was. We're guilty of that, also. God, what a mess."

"I'm curious to know what Mom is doing. She left us here for a reason."

"You don't trust her? I realize things are bad, but let's not make them worse, Neal."

"Dad's lying in a hospital bed with a gunshot wound, Marshall is who knows where, but we know he has to be lost and hurting and Mom needs to go do something?"

"I want answers, Neal."

"So do I Danny. So do I."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary startled awake and could see the first light of morning creeping in from the sides of the blinds. Her revelation was interrupted by the panicked voice of her partner.

"No, no. It's not true. Please."

Mary was about to wake Marshall up to stop the nightmare when he shot straight up in the bed and practically ran for the bathroom. She made to follow when she heard the sound of him throwing up.

Opening the door, she grabbed a washcloth and wet it before coming over to Marshall. She ran her hands in circles over his back until he finished and then handed him the washcloth while getting a glass of water.

"Sorry I woke you," Marshall whispered.

"Nothing to be sorry for. Do you want to talk about the nightmare you were having?"

"No, I think I just want to take a shower and get dressed. I'm not sure where to start with all of this. I just, I don't know what to do. I always know what to do, Mare."

Mary could hear the panic creeping up again. She hated Seth and Haley at the moment.

"Look at me, Marshall," Mary ordered and waited until he complied. "We'll take this one step at a time. You don't have to organize everything. Right now we need to figure out what to do in order for you to regain a sense of balance. What that is we don't know yet, but we'll do it together. Let's just start with baby steps. You take your shower and I'll make us coffee."

She watched him take his clothes into the bathroom while she started the coffee. Sitting on the bed, Mary listened to the shower run and took a deep breath. She wasn't used to having to take on the role of supporter for Marshall. All that mattered to her was not messing this up. He was the only thing that mattered right now.

Her cell phone ringing distracted her from her thoughts. Looking at the caller id she saw that it was Stan.

"What's up, Stan?"

"I'm on my way to the hotel. The three of us need to talk."

Mary recognized the official tone in Stan's voice.

"There is no way that you're sending him on a case right now. I won't let you do that to him. He needs time to pull himself together."

"Mary, I'm not going to risk his life by sending him on a case right now. There are a few things about his current situation that do need to be discussed. I don't want to push him and won't, but he needs to hear what I have to say."

"What's wrong?"

"Not without Marshall being with us to hear. I won't make him think that we're trying to keep things from him. We're not going to cause him anymore pain."

"I'll let him know that you're on the way. He should be out of the shower pretty soon."

"How's he doing?"

"He had plenty of nightmares last night, but the worst seemed to be this morning. He made himself sick. How's Seth?" Mary asked, in case Marshall would.

Stan listed the injuries and repeated what Neal had told him last night.

"When do they expect him to wake up?"

"This morning. He'll be on pain medication at the very least."

"Thanks, I'll tell Marshall if he asks. We'll see you in a bit," Mary replied, telling Stan the room number before hanging up.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall could hear Mary talking to someone. He knew it wasn't room service so it meant her phone went off. A part of him briefly wondered if she was talking about him. That thought had him rushing to find out what was going on.

He opened the door to see Mary drinking a cup of coffee and looking at him oddly.

"What's wrong?" Mary asked, trying to figure out why Marshall rushed. She knew his routine by heart. They had traveled enough together.

"I heard you talking to someone."

"Stan's on his way here. He wants to talk to us about something related to your current situation."

"Talk about what?"

"Stan didn't say. He didn't want to tell me without you hearing at the same time. You can trust the two of us. I promise you that. I know that you're world is shaken up right now. I want you to know that we're not going to keep anything from you. Marshall, you need to have someone that you can trust. Stan and I aren't going to lie to you and we're not keeping secrets from you."

Marshall ran his hands through his hair. He felt bad that he doubted Mary, but he trusted his Mom and Seth before and look what happened.

"Look at me, Marshall. I know you're unsure of everything and everyone around you. I have had your back since we became partners. I'll always have your back. Stan has been with us that entire trip. You can count on us and believe in us the way we believe you. Your parents shattered your trust. Stan and I haven't and won't. There are answers out there and together we'll get them. If you believe in one person let it be me. I know that I haven't been the world's greatest friend, but I want to be. Let me help you. Don't shut me out. You need someone and I'm hoping that someone is me. I won't betray you, Marshall."

Marshall leaned his forehead against hers.

"I trust you, Mare. I would be lying if I told you that I wasn't scared because I am. There is nothing that you or Stan have done for me to doubt your actions. Seth and Mom were the ones I never believed would betray me. It's hard to not question that when the people you supposedly knew your entire life aren't the people you thought they were."

"I can't promise you that I won't make some mistakes, but I'll do my best to not make a mess of all of this," Mary cautioned. "I need to take my shower before Stan arrives. The coffee is ready. I'll be out quickly. Do you need anything?"

"To turn back time. That won't happen, so just answers."

"Will get them, one way or another. I'll be back."

Marshall nodded and sat on the bed. He thought about what Mary said about Stan and her. He knew they had theories about his parents protecting him. It was the only answer that would make sense. The question then became what could they possibly be protecting him from? His Mom had said that it was in his best interest. She didn't have an affair so there was someone before Seth. He needed to research his Mom's life. Her maiden name was Sinclair. It would be where he started his investigation.

A knock at the door had Marshall getting out of his seat and looking through the peephole. Seeing it was Stan, he opened the door.

"Marshall, I brought you and Mary some breakfast. I figured you could use it before we get our conversation started."

"Why do I have a feeling that I'm not going to like this conversation?" Marshall asked.

"You won't, but I have an idea of how to work around some of the issues."

The bathroom door opened before the conversation could continue.

"Boys, what have I missed?" Mary asked.

"Stan is about to tell me something that I'm not going to like about getting answers."

"What the hell? I thought you were going to do whatever you could to help," Mary replied irritated.

"I have every intention of doing so, but there are some warnings that need to be applied here."

"Warnings?" Mary asked, before Marshall could.

"Mare, Stan's not the enemy. You told me to trust in the two of you and I do. Let's hear him out before you go into mother hen mode."

"Watch who you're calling a mother hen, buster," Mary replied, enjoying the few minutes of light banter. It was a tiny flicker of hope that Marshall would be okay. It would take awhile, but he would get there.

"What's going on?" Marshall asked.

"Apparently, I set up a few red flags while trying to start looking into information on your mother. Allison called me last night and told me to back off and that I needed to keep you and Mary under control. I called in a favor from Eleanor to do it on the sly, but to be careful. I'm under the impression we could be putting you and your mother in danger by digging to deep."

"What kind of danger? What the hell could be so bad that we would be opening up our lives to danger?"

The frustration and confusion was radiating off Marshall and he began pacing back and forth. Whatever progress Mary had made with him was just erased again and she was worried if the Director was involved.

"Marshall, she wouldn't tell me. I have a feeling that we're going to have to search through unofficial means. Anything we do that touches on your mother's name is going to raise red flags and we're going to bring down a whole lot of trouble on ourselves. I'm not saying that we're not going to look, because I know that you need to have answers. The only thing that I'm telling the two of you is that we're going to have to be very discreet with what we look into. Eleanor is going to help. I told her to be careful. I will pull the plug on researching if at any time that I think that you're life is in danger," Stan warned.

"You can't stop me from looking. I don't care what it takes to get my answers; I'll get them, Stan."

"Marshall, not at the cost of you life or your mother's, but if it comes to that then we'll get the truth from your parents."

"Parent. I don't have a father anymore. I don't even know who my father is or if he's alive.."

"Your birth certificate shows Seth. That's what I was checking on when Allison called."

"Her maiden name was Sinclair. That's assuming that wasn't a lie either."

"Marshall, I know this is hard and that you're angry with Seth and Haley. It justifiable, but you're going to have to talk to them. They're going to have answers that we can't find. Look, the truth is that they hurt you and they know that. The other truth is they've raised you and took care of you since you were born. When the anger dies down and you find your center of balance again; you will not only want, but need them in to be a part of your life. Don't let the anger, pain and betrayal get the better of you and say something that you'll regret or can't take back. They should've told you when you were old enough to understand, but I know Seth and he wouldn't keep it from you if he didn't think that it was in your best interest."

"You're saying forgive and forget," Marshall said, staring at Stan in astonishment.

"In time, yes. Not now and maybe it might take months or years. I'm not putting a timetable on you, but I do know that Seth and Haley love you. That fact is irrefutable."

Marshall walked over towards the window and stared out seeing the city below him and thinking about Stan's words. A part of him knew they were true and that Stan was on his side. It didn't stop it from hurting.

"If they love me so much then why did they hurt me? It hurts, Stan."

Stan walked over to Marshall and squeezed his shoulder in comfort and support.

"They're human and make mistakes. They were doing what they thought was right and trying to protect you. It hurts because you love them and always have. You're feeling betrayed and that's not wrong either. Give the wound time to heal and don't make rash decisions. It will get better in time."

"Until then?"

"You have Mary and me to help you. We're our own warped little family, but we work. We're here day or night if you need us."

"Thank you, Stan. How is he?"

Stan gave Marshall the rundown of the injuries and prognosis, happy that he finally asked about Seth.

"Thanks again, Stan. Could the two of you give me some time? I'll call you before I leave here."

"Marshall, I can wait for you downstairs."

"Mare, just go to the office and I'll call you when I'm ready. I need some time on my own."

"You won't leave until I get a phone call. Promise me that and I will agree to this," Mary replied, firmly.

"Agreed."

Stan and Mary left the room and Marshall sat down in the chair. After a few minutes passed he pulled out his cell phone and made a call. He never promised he wouldn't investigate anything on his own. Right now there were a couple of people he needed to talk to.

/\/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Neal and Danny were sitting in the hospital cafeteria eating lunch when Neal's phone went off.

"Mann."

"Hi Neal."

"Marshall, where are you? Are you alright?"

"Hotel. I don't know what I am."

"We can come to the hotel and talk. Marshall, this doesn't change anything between us. We have been and always will be your brothers. Danny and I need you to know that."

"I appreciate it. Can I ask you a few questions?"

"You don't need to ask. We have every intention of helping you find whatever you need."

"Has she said anything about my past?"

"No, she hasn't. We asked Mom, but she won't tell us until her and Dad can talk to you first or all of us at the same time if that's what you choose," Neal replied to Marshall while signaling to Danny that he'd explain after.

"Has she been acting strangely? Talk to anyone that you don't know?"

"Mom left us to watch Dad while she had something to do, but no one else has been here."

"When was that?"

"Last night. Marshall, what's going on?" Neal knew there was reasoning behind the questions.

"Do me a favor, you and Danny stay out of the background checking for now. I'll contact you if I need anything."

"Marshall, that is your big brother over protective voice. Don't shut us out or we'll start our own investigation," Neal warned, the only reason he used that tone was when he was worried that one of them was going to get hurt.

There was a long pause and the only reason Neal knew Marshall was still there was because he could hear his breathing.

"Marshall, tell me what's going on."

"Stan was trying to get a start on finding information for me. A red flag was raised and the Director told him to stay out of it. That was last night."

"You're thinking Mom called someone to keep us from investigating? The only reason they would lie and stop us from digging is if they were trying to protect you. Danny and I will keep pushing for answers on our end. You be careful and if there is any sign of trouble you back off until we can find another way to get the information."

"Understood. Just do the same thing for me."

"I don't like this, but I will. Dad's doing okay, he's been waking up a little at a time."

"You mean Seth, we don't know who my father is. Stan relayed the information though. I'm glad for you."

"Marshall, your anger is justified, but I want you to think about this. What makes a father? Think about it and then you'll know who your father truly is."

Marshall hung up and Neal worried he pushed him too far. It wasn't really fair without knowing the answers, but it worried him that he refused to call their father, Dad and only referred to his Mom as she. Those two had always been close. He worried about how this would end.

"What did Marshall say?" Danny demanded.

Neal explained what Marshall told him.

"Marshall won't back off."

"I know and Stan and Mary aren't going to be the only ones watching his back. We can do some digging, but we need to figure out how to without it tracing to us."

"I think it's time to have a conversation with Mom."

"Couldn't agree with you more. Let's do that and then see if we can find what kind of trouble big brother is getting himself into."

Neal nodded as they got up and headed back to their father's room.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall went out and purchased a prepaid cell phone. Taking a deep breath, he dug out a card he had kept that Mary had thrown out years ago. A part of him felt bad for calling it. The only reason he had taken it out of Mary's trash can was so when the day finally came that she was ready to find her father they could get some help.

Marshall dialed the number and waited.

"Samuel Garfinkel."

"Samuel, this is Marshall Mann." He felt himself nearly choke on the last name. He really didn't know what it should be.

"Marshall, are you calling on behalf of our mutual friend?"

"No, I need to know if you only look for people or if you're just as good at finding out about a person's past without calling attention to yourself or said person."

Samuel was puzzled by this conversation. He honestly thought he'd hear from Mary some day. Intrigued he decided to find out what the young man was looking for.

"I can do both. Exactly who's past am I to be digging around in and shouldn't you be able to do that within your own system?"

"Mine and no I can't. Someone doesn't want me searching. I also need this to stay between you and I. Mary and Stan are to know nothing about this."

"What information are you looking for?"

"I need to know who my real father is and who my mother really is," Marshall said, before giving him the information that he knew. "I know that it's not a lot to go on and I can't tell you if what I know is true."

"Are you sure you're ready for the answers that you could receive?"

"I need to know. Please only use this number to reach me. If you need a down payment for your services let me know and I'll make arrangements."

"I do this to help others in need, not for money. I have plenty of resources and cash flow. No need to worry about payment."

"Can I least give you something for your help?" Marshall asked, feeling guilty.

"I appreciate the offer, but we're good. You helped enough with our first meeting."

"Thank you and I apologize for using the number you left Mary, but I really don't know where to go with this."

Samuel could hear the pain in Marshall's voice.

"I don't mind. You and your partner treated me fairly. I'll do some digging around. I'll call you when I have information."

Marshall said goodbye and hung up. He looked in the mirror and for the first time in his life didn't know who he was looking at. Burying that thought he started his SUV and headed into the office. If he didn't show up soon Stan and Mary would be sending out a search party. Knowing he needed an excuse for being late, he made a stop along the way.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Haley sat next to Seth's bed her hand gripping his. He had awoken several times in the night, but hadn't been able to stay awake long. Each time he woke up though he'd been awake longer.

"Oh Seth, please get better quickly. I need you more than ever. Things are a mess and we need you. The two of us need to talk to the boys when you're strong enough to handle it."

"You really need to talk to us now. Who did you call when you left the room last night? It had to be someone because they told Stan to back off and relay that message to Marshall and Mary. This isn't helping the situation," Danny said, entering their father's hospital room.

"I've explained my position on telling you yesterday. When Dad wakes up and Marshall comes back then we can discuss this," Haley said adamantly.

"You're assuming something that you shouldn't," Neal fired back heatedly.

"What are you talking about?" Haley demanded.

"Considering Marshall won't allow us to call Dad his father and you're being referred to as she, I think that assuming Marshall is just going to walk back into this room is a huge leap on your part. The only way you're getting him in here is if he has questions."

"There's no way that your brother isn't going to come check up on your father."

"Why would he? It's not like he's his father. You kept that from him all these years and whatever is going on seems to imply putting Marshall in danger so I suggest that you start talking. Marshall isn't going to stop no matter how much you try and prevent him. At this point it wouldn't surprise me if he quit the Marshal Service if that's what it took."

"Marshall wouldn't walk away from the Marshal legacy of this family."

"You keep forgetting the important part. He's not a Mann as he was informed of yesterday. It's no longer his legacy. You and Dad stole that away from him too," Danny reminded.

"Keep your tone down. Your father is still sleeping."

"Then answer the question. I don't want Marshall getting hurt because you keep putting off telling him anything," Neal warned.

Seth was beginning to wake up. He could register the angry voices, but not the words being said. When he finally managed to open his eyes, he could see Neal and Danny glaring at their mother. Looking around the room he noticed Marshall wasn't there.

"Where's Marshall?" Seth asked, causing all three heads to turn towards him.

"Seth, how are you feeling?" Haley asked.

"Sore, where's Marshall? He wasn't hurt was he?"

"No he's not hurt," Haley replied.

"Not physically, at least," Danny muttered louder then he'd meant to.

"What the hell does that mean?" Seth asked. "Don't tell me nothing either. The tension in this room is so thick you could cut it with a knife."

"It means the cat is out of the bag so to speak," Neal replied, knowing he shouldn't push, but unwilling to risk Marshall getting hurt.

"Haley?" Seth asked confused.

"This isn't the time to discuss this. You need to get your rest and heal."

Neal and Danny looked at their Mom in disbelief. She was delaying telling their father. They knew in some ways she was right, but the stakes were too high for them to properly wait around.

"First, you were going to tell Marshall the truth when Dad woke up. Now you want to wait until he gets more rest. You're playing with fire, Mom. You're little call to whoever you talked to, isn't going to stop Marshall. He's out there getting ready to do something and you're gambling with his life. He warned us to back off after Stan got a call from the Director which coincides with the time you stepped out of this room. Whoever you called won't be able to stop Marshall from digging. You need to fess up to whatever it is you're hiding from all of us," Neal said heatedly.

Seth took in the words and finally put two and two together.

"Marshall knows."

Haley looked at Seth with tears in her eyes and nodded.

"How? We've managed to protect him this long. How did he find out?" Seth asked worried.

"You needed a transfusion while your blood was being sent here. The nurse let it slip when she brought the results back from the test. It was an accident," Haley replied.

"You called Cal?"

Haley nodded again.

Seth felt his heart sink. He was grateful that Danny and Neal spoke up. They were right and Marshall had a unique set of connections that could put himself and Haley in a lot of danger if Victor's men caught wind of the search.

"Danny, call Marshall. Tell him we want to talk to him. We'll give him the answers he needs. Haley, I know that you're trying to protect Marshall, but if we don't tell him the two of you won't be safe. They could send people after the both of you and take their revenge out on Marshall."

"I didn't want to tell him until you were able to. I don't want to hurt him anymore than we already have. I figured Cal would be able to stop them."

"Danny, make the call."

"Seth, you need to stay calm," Haley reminded.

"Haley, I know you have a lot of faith in Cal and for good reason. The problem is, I know our son and the people he works with. They'll find it through whatever means necessary if only to ease Marshall's mind."

"Dad, you might not want to use that word around, Marshall right now. I don't know what is going on, but it's obvious that this isn't a good thing. You need to tell him everything and I mean everything. I'm not even sure if Marshall will believe you. The two of you shattered his world and that is something you're going to have to deal with," Neal warned.

Seth looked at Neal and then to Haley.

"How bad is it?"

"I haven't seen him since he walked out of the hospital," Haley admitted.

"I've talked to him, but he won't let us call you his father and Mom is now she. He took it about as well as one could expect when they find out their whole life was one lie after another."

"Neal, we love your brother. That was never a lie," Seth said adamantly.

"I'm not the one you're going to need to convince of that. Dad, I'm not sure which one of you is going to have the hardest time with him. You never tried to understand him growing up. Danny and I were the same in many ways, but Marshall and Mom have always had a special bond. The problem is how he responds to the way you treated him over the years and how Mom could betray the trust he cherished."

Neal walked out of the room to go find Danny and see if he was having any luck with Marshall. His parents needed time to talk.


	4. Chapter 4

Mary was pacing the length of the office waiting for Marshall to come in. He was taking a hell of a lot longer than he should be. The ping of the elevator had her turning. When she saw Marshall swipe his card and walk in she pounced.

"Where the hell have you been? I know you needed some time, but it's been over an hour and a half."

"I didn't get a chance to think right away because I was talking to Neal."

"Everything okay?"

"They wanted to let me know that they had my back and would help to try and find out information from Mom. I told them to stay out of the digging," Marshall continued to summarize their conversation.

"Marshall he's right. If we get to close to the truth and if it puts you in danger we're going to have to back off. I don't want you getting hurt either. I'm not saying stop completely, but to put it on hold until the troubles goes away. We're not taking chances with your life."

"I can't promise that, Mare. Why don't we just go check on our witnesses?"

"You've been benched for a little while. Stan doesn't want you out in the field with everything going on."

"I'm not a kid who needs protecting," Marshall complained.

"No, but you're a man whose world has been turned upside down. You might need to be protected yet. Until we get your answers all precautionary measures are to be taken. Look, I know you don't like it, but if you want to look at it from the professional side of life then you need to realize that if someone comes after you it puts your witnesses in harm's way."

Marshall stared at Mary with a blank expression. He hadn't even thought about his witnesses. All he had been thinking about was finding out who he was. The only risk he was willing to take was with his own life.

Mary saw when reality sunk in. She hated being the bad guy when it came to Marshall. Trampling on anyone else never bothered her, but hurting him was like hurting herself. She hated it with a passion. Walking over to him she gently ran her thumb over his cheek.

"I'm sorry. I know that you need to be busy. If there was something I could do to make this better I would. You're the only person that I'd ever consider doing this for. It'll get better in time."

"How much time?"

"Wish I could answer that for you partner, but I can't. I'm here twenty-four seven if you need me," Mary reminded, placing a kiss to his forehead.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/

Danny was trying to calm himself down before calling Marshall. He was upset with his mother for trying to delay the conversation that they all knew needed to take place. He hadn't realized how much time passed until he saw Neal walking towards him.

"Is Marshall coming?" Neal asked.

"I haven't called yet."

"What are you waiting for, Danny?"

"I didn't want to call when I was mad at Mom. Marshall would know in a heartbeat that I was upset."

"Well, I think you need to do it now. If not, I will. Mom and Dad are both worried. Dad is seriously worried and when is the last time you saw that?" Neal asked, before explaining what he heard after Danny left the room.

"Who's Cal? This just doesn't make sense. I've tried to play every angle of it in my mind and keep coming up blank."

"That's because it's our family that we're finding out wasn't what we thought it was. Do you want me to call?"

"No. I've got it." Danny took his phone out and hit speed dial number five.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall was filling out more paperwork. Mary and Stan were in his office going over a witness transport that would be handled by Stan and Charlie. It was one of Mary's witnesses that the two of them were originally supposed to handle the following day.

His phone rang interrupting his thoughts.

"This is Marshall."

Danny immediately noticed the difference in response. He usually answered with his last name.

"This is Danny. Dad's awake and he and Mom would like to talk to you."

Marshall froze at those words. As much as he wanted his answers he wasn't ready to look at the people who lied to him since the day he was born.

"Now isn't a good time for me."

"Marshall, I think you really need to hear what they have to say."

"Did they already tell you and Neal?"

"No. Neal was around for a partial conversation. Did you ever meet someone by the name of Cal? His name kept coming up in their conversations."

Marshall had to think back. There was a man that Seth had worked with years ago. He was four when Uncle Cal stopped coming around.

"I called him Uncle Cal. The last time I saw him was at my fourth birthday party. He just stopped coming around after that."

"Thank explains why we don't know him, but it doesn't explain why Mom called him from the hospital. Look, why don't you just come here and we can get this all out in the open. We can work on it from there."

"How much of the truth do you honestly think they're going to tell me? I've got work to do. I'll talk to you later. Thanks for calling."

Danny looked to Neal. "He's not coming."

"Not really a surprise. How would you feel about seeing them after all that he's found out?"

"Let's go tell Mom and Dad."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall tried to concentrate on his work, but was having little bits and pieces of Uncle Cal interrupt his concentration. He knew he was forgetting an important detail, but what it was he couldn't say.

His burn phone rang and he quickly answered it.

"Hello."

"Marshall, this is Samuel. I've arrived in town. I need to go over some things with in order to help with my search. When and where can you meet me?"

"Give me a couple of hours and then I'll meet you at the Coronado Mall food court. I have to go," Marshall said, before quickly hanging up after Samuel agreed. The door to Stan's office was opening and he didn't want Mary to know what he was doing.

Mary watched Marshall from the second she opened the door. Something seemed off, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Everything okay out here."

"Yes, I've been a good boy and worked on my paperwork," Marshall replied sarcastically, noticing Stan come out of the office. He turned his attention to his boss.

"Stan, do you mind if I take a few hours during lunch? I have to run out and get some things."

"Where are we going?" Mary asked immediately.

"We are not going anywhere. I'm just running to the mall to pick up some more clothes for the hotel. I know how much you love the mall."

"That's fine, Marshall. Mary will be busy going over plans with Charlie and checking on witnesses.

"Thanks, Stan."

Stan and Mary exchanged looks. Something was definitely off, but deciding it was probably just the situation they decided to file it in the back of their minds for now.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Danny and Neal entered their father's room. They both noticed their parents look at them hopefully.

"Is Marshall on his way?" Haley asked.

"No, he's not. He's working and doesn't feel the need to hear whatever story that the two of you had thirty-eight years to come up with."

"Give me your phone. I need to talk to Marshall," Seth demanded.

"He doesn't want to talk to you. Can the two of you understand this from his side instead of yours? Marshall doesn't trust you and why exactly should he? You need to regain his trust. What are you going to do Dad? Call him and demand that he listen to the two of you. There was a time to tell him the truth and you passed that a long time ago."

"This isn't up for debate. Haley, get me a phone to call him. We need to explain to him so he doesn't stir up the past."

"Damn it Dad, stop being stubborn and realize that if you push Marshall too far that you won't get him back. You don't seem to get that."

"If I don't do something a lot worse could happen to your brother and mother."

"Seth…." Haley started.

"We need to talk to Marshall. I won't have anything happening to either of you."

Haley nodded. The stakes were high, but she didn't think Marshall could get information that quickly and wanted her husband to recover more before going down a path that would turn ugly. She didn't doubt that she had only just seen the beginning of Marshall's anger. The truth wouldn't help their relationship with Marshall.

Haley reached into her purse and took out her cell phone.

"Here, but I still think that you would be able to give him a few days of searching. There's no way he could possibly come up with any information that quickly. It's pretty well hidden. Your body needs to heal, Seth."

"Haley, the one thing I do know about Marshall is his ability to find out things for himself. When he sets his mind to something he'll accomplish it. He's more than capable and has connections to get a lot further in a few days then you think. Marshall has always been resourceful. He got that damn saliva kit when he was eight without us knowing," Seth replied, before he flashed back to the day he discovered the kit.

_Seth heard Marshall in the kitchen and wondered what he was up to. Quietly getting out of the chair, Seth headed into the kitchen to see what his son was up to. When he saw Marshall swabbing his glass it sent off warning signals in his head. His son was up to something, but what he wasn't sure what. Seeing Marshall filling the glass with iced tea, he moved swiftly back to his chair. Marshall handed him the glass and he set it down while watching Marshall hurry down the hall. He waited a few seconds before following him to his bedroom. _

_Marshall turned around at the sound of the door opening and stared wide eyed at his father. His eyes glancing back and forth between his father and the test that sat on the counter in his bathroom. _

"_Is something wrong, Dad?" _

"_No. Gunsmoke needs to go out for a walk and Neal is at the doctor's office with your Mom. Could you please take the dog out for your brother?" _

_Marshall swallowed hard, but nodded. "Sure, I can." _

_Seth didn't miss the nervous glance Marshall sent towards the bathroom and waited for him to go out of the house before entering back into the bedroom. The first place he stopped was in the bathroom to see what had Marshall so nervous. _

_Looking around he saw the cotton swabs and the envelope addressed to the lab. He felt something he hadn't felt in years. Sheer panic filled him as he quickly began to look around the bathroom for someway to fix the problem. Coming across the second kit in the garbage can he grabbed one of the swabs and went across to Danny's room. _

_Swabbing his other's son's mouth while he slept soundly, he returned to the bathroom and swabbed his mouth and swapped the tests out. Shoving the one Marshall had done deeply into the trash can. Making sure nothing was out of place he then headed back into the living room to wait for Marshall to return. _

A noise in the hallway brought Seth back to the present.

"Would the two of you care to enlighten the two of us on what is going on? Neal asked annoyed.

"What saliva test?" Danny asked. "Marshall would've known that he wasn't Dad's son."

"I changed the kit before it was sent out so his results wouldn't show the truth. Why don't you two go get some sleep? You look exhausted."

"You ignored my question," Neal reminded.

"Your mother was right; Marshall needs to hear this first. It's the least we can do for him."

"I want you to inform us when you decide to tell Marshall the truth. He's going to need someone to trust and right now it won't be either of you. I'm not going to stand by idly while the two of you trample all over his heart. If this secret is as bad as you're making it out to be then I have a feeling Marshall is going to be destroyed. Danny and I won't let you do that to him. We'll pick him up and carry him for as long as he needs us. I realize that you feel this was the best way to handle the situation, but did you even think about the consequences of your decision?" Neal asked.

"Dad, you have to realize that you and Marshall already have a rocky relationship. He's already refusing to call you his father. You're not noted for having a lot of patience when it comes to dealing with one of us lashing out at you. Marshall will do it to both of you and you're going to take it. If you don't you'll lose him and he won't be the only one you lose. This is crap. What you did to him was wrong on levels that even I can't comprehend. This goes against everything that you've taught us," Danny added.

"Look boys, I know that you don't understand, but we have done everything in our power to make sure the three of you are safe. I won't apologize for protecting Marshall. I'm not going to say this again to you either. We did what was necessary under the circumstances and until Marshall hears it or agrees to have you hear it with him then you're going to have to wait," Haley replied, firmly.

Seth looked through Haley's contact list and dialed Marshall's number.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall sat at his desk ignoring the concerned looks that Mary and Stan were both sending his way. In many ways, he was grateful for their concern. He knew they were worried that he'd breakdown or blow up. His emotional roller coaster ride was just beginning and they didn't know what to expect. Which put them in the same spot he was at.

The odd thing was at the moment he felt nothing. Inside he was numb and wished he could stay that way for the rest of his life. The problem with that was he knew it was unrealistic. Sooner or later the numbness would wear off and reality would start to sink in, but while at work he was free of his problems.

The ringing of his office phone drew him out of his thoughts. Picking it up he almost said his last name, but couldn't because it wasn't who he really was.

"U.S. Marshal's Service," Marshall said, noticing Mary's head snap over in his direction.

"Marshall…" Seth was cut off by Marshall.

"Seth."

"Marshall, your mother and I would like for you to come to the hospital. There are numerous things that we need to discuss with you."

"I have nothing to say to you currently."

"Then you can listen to what we have to tell you."

"Do you have a lie detector in the room? How would I even know what the truth sounds like from either of you?"

"I get that we hurt you, but there was a good reason for it. Come to the hospital and we can discuss this."

"I'm not coming to the hospital. I have a prior engagement."

"Marshall, I am your father and I'm telling you that you need to come to the hospital so that we can go through all of this like adults."

"You're not my father. If you were, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. There is nothing that says that I have to listen to anything either of you have to say to me. Let's be honest with each other, this was a blessing in disguise for you. The charade can end. You don't have to pretend that you love or hell, even care about me. The truth shall set you free. Well you've got it. You're free of me," Marshall said and hung up, not noticing that Stan and Mary were in front of desk until.

"Marshall…." Mary started, but was cut off.

"Don't. Just don't," Marshall replied and looked to Stan. "I have an appointment. Do you mind if I take the rest of the day off?"

"No, go ahead. Marshall, call us if you need anything." Stan couldn't cover his concern and wasn't going to. He had never heard Marshall get that angry with anyone on the phone and he had a feeling this was just the beginning.

Mary moved to get her things, but Marshall stopped her.

"I'm going alone, Mare. This isn't work related or anything like that. If you want you can stop by the hotel tonight and we can go for supper."

Mary looked to Stan. She wanted to say no, but Stan was indicating for her to not push him. It wasn't what he needed now.

"Five o'clock sharp so be ready when I arrive. You know how I get without having my daily intake of food."

"I'll see you then," Marshall replied, heading towards the elevator.

Mary watched him go before turning towards Stan.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?"

"I think if we're going to be allowed to help him then if he needs space, we're going to give it to him unless he gives us a reason not to. He has enough issues to deal with. I don't think adding us to his problems would be wise. Don't even think about telling me that you're going to visit your witnesses. I don't want you following Marshall. If he caught you then we'd be pushed away also. He's going to group our actions as team response. One of us betrays him we both do."

"I don't like this, Stan."

"Neither do I, but for now we're going to have to accept it. We continue to keep an eye on him while digging into the past."

"Where are we with that?"

"I'm waiting for a call from Eleanor. I have a feeling we'd be caught doing anything to help him. Allison was adamant about keeping the two of you in line. She can't really touch you legally, but I don't want to know how she'd decide to make her point."

"You're thinking she'd split us up."

"She's our boss and doesn't take kindly to being made to look unprofessional. If the three of us disobey her orders, it would reflect on her."

"What about Marshall? If he looks and we both know he will, how will she respond to that?"

"I think at this moment in time, he's the only one that could get away with it. After all that's happened, I don't think anyone would question his needing answers. His behavior would be viewed as a reasonable response to the recent news and the overwhelming implications of it."

"Well let's hope he doesn't find trouble. I don't like all the mystery."

"I plan on visiting with Seth later. I'll wait until you're hanging out with Marshall."

"Sounds like a plan."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Haley looked at the shocked expression on Seth's face as he stared at the phone. She felt her heart sink knowing that the conversation didn't go well. He had pushed the one word he shouldn't have, but was a habit.

"How bad did it go?" Haley has tried to conceal the fear in her voice, but knew she hadn't.

"Marshall honestly thinks that I don't want him. I know that we've always had our differences, but never did I imagine the damage was that bad," Seth said, before relaying to Haley the conversation that he's just had.

Haley felt the tear slip down her face. She was grateful Danny and Neal had gone to get some sleep. She knew they would once again remind Seth about how Marshall would respond. The problem was she hadn't expected it to be so severe. How could Marshall really believe that his father would find this as freedom? She could see the pain in Seth's eyes and knew it wasn't from the shooting.

"Haley, I don't know how to fix this or keep Marshall safe if he won't come and talk to us. I was tougher on him growing up, but I wanted to make sure he would be prepared in case the past came back to haunt us. He needed to know how to defend himself."

"Seth, he also needed to know that you loved him for who he was. I'm not trying to be mean either. It's just you related so much more to Neal and Danny that somewhere along the way you left Marshall behind unless it was to criticize him for not being tough enough. He didn't know the circumstances and responded the way he viewed your opinion of him. Maybe I coddled him too much and kept him to close. I just needed to make sure he didn't become like Carson. The boys have a valid point about the fact that we should've told him when he was older, but I still think we did the right thing. If he'd searched for his past he could've ended up dead."

"At the moment, I'm not sure he'll believe anything that we tell him."

"You think we need to ride out the storm?"

"I think the second he figures out you aren't who we said you were that he'll be looking for answers and will have no choice, but to come here. It's not going to be a happy reunion. There will still be doubts and he'll continue to search no matter what we tell him," Seth replied, trying to cover up a yawn.

"Get some rest. You still need to recover from your injuries. All this emotional turmoil isn't helping any."

"It's our own doing. None of this is Marshall's fault. I do love him, Haley. That was never a lie."

"I know and in time so will Marshall. Go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

"You need a decent bed to sleep in," Seth reminded her before drifting off.

Haley watched Seth's chest rise and fall with each breath. She had been lucky to have him in her life much less fall in love with her while she was carrying another man's child. She couldn't help, but smile as she recalled the day he proposed. It was the best day of her life.

_She had been pacing the floor back and forth since returning to her apartment after her doctor's appointment. She had been sick to her stomach a lot the last few weeks and decided it was time to see if the doctor could give her a prescription for her cold._

_Carson had been dead for three months and she and Seth had been dating for the last month. She was happy and in love. Running a hand over her stomach she knew that this could be the end of the relationship. Most single men didn't want to be involved with a pregnant woman. She had briefly thought about not saying anything, but couldn't do that to Seth. Not after everything he had done for her._

_She had thought about an abortion briefly, but couldn't give away a part of herself. Her late husband had given her a precious gift and she would raise the baby on her own. It was too much to ask of Seth to want to be with her. She wouldn't trap him in a life that he wasn't ready for._

_The doorbell rang and she quickly prepared herself for the heartbreak that she knew was coming, before letting him in._

"_There's something that I need to talk to you about," the both said at the same time. _

"_Ladies first," Seth replied to the woman who stole his heart years before she was available to even ask out._

"_Please have a seat. I went to the doctor today to help with the bout of stomach flu," Haley said, unable to stop herself from wringing her hands. She was so nervous about this. _

"_Are you okay? What did the doctor say?" Seth asked worried. _

"_Look there probably isn't a great way to say this, so I'm just going to get it over with. I'm pregnant," she knew that he would know that Carson was the father. They hadn't slept together yet. She was still an old fashioned girl in many ways. "I'll understand if you don't want anything to do with me anymore."_

_Seth had looked at her before reaching into his pocket. The news registered, but it didn't matter to him. _

"_Haley, please have a seat." _

_She waited for the final blow. She knew he would put it kindly, but they'd be through tonight. She had loved Carson, but his choice in careers changed him into a person she didn't know. Seth had wormed his way into her heart even before her husband was killed. He was kind, good looking and well mannered. It was all about to end. _

_Seth got down on one knee and held out a box. _

"_Haley Sinclair, will you do the honor of marrying me?" _

"_What?" Haley asked shocked. "Why would you want to marry me? I'm pregnant with my late husband's child and you never liked Carson. Why would you want to raise his child?" _

"_Because a part of that child is you and together the two of us can raise him so that he doesn't become his father. I love you and will love this child as my own." _

Looking at her husband while she slept she leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"You did love Marshall as if he was your own. I know that is why you were so hard on him growing up. It was your way of making sure he survived in a world that had people that would be more than happy to kill him. We'll figure a way to get through to him. I promise you. We won't lose him. Somehow we're going to work things out. You're his father; he just needs time to realize it. I love you, Seth Mann."


	5. Chapter 5

Marshall walked into the mall and headed straight to the food court. Not seeing Samuel he bought a cup of coffee and headed for a table. Before he could even take his first sip Samuel joined him at the table.

"Marshall."

"Samuel, you said something about needing more information."

"What can you tell me about how or where your parents met? I need more information on them in order to help you."

"You haven't been able to find anything on my Mom?"

"Marshall, Haley Sinclair isn't your mother's real name. I was able to track it to your parent's wedding papers and about five months prior to their wedding in Spokane, Washington."

"You're telling me that she isn't Haley Sinclair?"

"I ran into a brick wall. There are no traces of your mother before then. I'm still looking into it, but not having a lot of luck. That's not normal for the connections within my reach."

"Follow Seth Mann. I know for a fact that it's his real name. He was born and raised in San Antonio. The house they now live in was my grandparent's home. He's been a U.S. Marshal and should be able to track his steps. Maybe that will lead to what the truth is. I'll do some more digging and let you know what I find out."

"I'll keep in touch. Marshall, are you sure about doing this? There's a lot of information hidden and I'm guessing it was for a reason."

"I need to know who I am."

"You already do. Let me know if at anytime you change your mind. In the meantime, I'll keep searching as long as you want me to."

"Thank you. I'll give you a call as soon as I get more information," Marshall said getting up.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Danny and Neal had called their wives and asked them to go over to their parent's house to do a little snooping. It had taken a lot of work, but they finally caved in for Marshall's sake.

In the meantime, they were on their way back to the hospital. While not happy with the situation with their parents, they knew all of this couldn't be good for their Dad's healing process. In some ways it was a good thing that Marshall hadn't decided to visit. They could just imagine the commotion that would cause.

As they parked their rental car they noticed a very familiar person heading towards the entrance of the hospital.

"Crap, this can't be good," Neal said, noting the way Marshall was walking. He had a purposeful stride and that meant he was pissed about something.

"Let's give big brother the benefit of the doubt. Let's go though because I have a feeling that you're going to be right on this one."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Haley was tired, but refused to sleep. Seth would still be upset when he woke up and she had no idea how to protect Marshall or fix things with him. She was well aware of the fact that the more her son uncovered the worse things would get. Her greatest fear was that it would take a long time if ever to repair the damage with Marshall.

She hadn't known this kind of fear since Cooper died and she found out she was pregnant. The second was at least a good fear. Seth had changed her life into what she believed she had with Cooper. In what would be a strange twist of fate the reason she had so many problems with Cooper was because of the lies he had told her and yet here she turned around and did the same thing to her own flesh and blood. She remembered how disillusioned she'd been by the life she thought her and Cooper were living.

When reality hit, she had learned a very hard lesson about the truth and what you choose to believe. Here she was thirty-eight years later just as guilty if not more so then Cooper was all those years ago.

Seth and she had promised each other no more lies. Yet Marshall's whole life was a lie that they had set up from the beginning. While their lie was done to protect, it didn't stop the damage that it left behind.

"Oh Seth, what have we done?" Haley asked, tracing her husband's hand with her finger.

It was right after that she heard the sound of boots coming down the hall. They were steps she was very familiar with. She felt the first feelings of hope since all this started.

"Marshall," Haley said as he stepped into the room.

"Was any part of my life not a lie?"

Haley saw the pain in his eyes. They were the windows to his soul. They always had been. It hurt her to know that she was the cause of his pain.

"What are you talking about, Marshall?" Haley asked, noticing his brothers standing by the door.

"First you tell me that he's not my father, but what you failed to mention was who you really are. Haley Sinclair didn't exist until five months before she married Seth Mann. So that leaves very few options about your background. Option one would have been a criminal past, but he wouldn't have married you then. Seth did a stint in WITSEC. Covering things up and changing names is a specialty. So that would be option number two and the only other idea that I can even fathom is you were running from the man who is my father and used the underground to get away. Care to explain? I was already confused enoought not knowing who I really am, but now I don't even know who you are."

"Marshall, this is a very complicated. I know that you're confused, but I need you to stop digging for information. We will explain everything to you. The only thing you need to do is trust us."

"How do you propose I do that? I don't know anything about you. You're not who you said you are, he's not my father and you're purposefully trying to avoid giving me any answers. Even if you did, how would I know you spoke the truth? I'm not even sure you know how to."

"I've never lied about loving you children," Haley replied, tears streaming down her face. She needed to make him understand all of this, but it was so complicated.

Haley stood up and moved towards Marshall, when she went to cup his cheek he pulled away as if her touch would burn him. Her heart shattered at that moment.

"Don't touch me. You don't have the right to any more. I want the key to my house back and all of your things out of there, by tomorrow. As of this moment you only have two sons. Don't contact me ever again. Just stay as far away from me as possible."

"Marshall…." Neal started, but was cut off.

"Don't even try to defend their actions to me."

"I'm not going to defend what they did to you, because I can't. Don't cut us all out of your life. They made a huge mistake and we all get that. You're angry and saying things without thinking them through. We're not even asking you to forgive and forget, but please don't remove us from your life," Neal said, hearing the pleading in his own voice.

"Why, you never wanted anything to do with me. I was the embarrassing geeky older brother. You barely put any effort into trying to talk to me or see me. This should solve all of your problems. None of you will ever have to see me again. You finally get what you always wanted."

"I know that we have all messed up over the years where you were concerned. You have been and always will be my oldest brother. Nothing that has been revealed will ever change that. Yes, we need to be better brothers, but don't do this. I know that we need to improve the way we treat you, but neither of us wants you out of our lives permanently. We never ever wanted that," Danny said, hoping to get through to Marshall.

"I need time away from all of you and this," Marshall started trying to get his thoughts clear. He was taking the situation out on his brothers and it wasn't there fault either. "I'm sorry Danny and Neal. I know that you're innocent in all of this also, but I need space away from all of you."

Marshall turned back and looked at his mother. "I really wish I could say the same thing about you. You're not even going to have the decency to tell us who you really are. Don't try and deny it either. I can tell by the look on your face. To think I actually believed that you cared enough about me to never lie to me. Apparently, I was the ignorant one. Never again will I have that blind faith in you. There's no room in my life for people like you."

Seth had woken up to the angry voice of Marshall. The problem was he woke in time to here that their son wanted nothing to do with them.

"Marshall that's enough. Do you hear me?" Seth croaked out angrily.

"It's actually only the beginning if the two of you don't keep your distance from me. I don't need either of you to help me to find the truth. I'll get it with the help of people I can actually trust. The ones who don't lie to me."

"You will do no such thing, Marshall. You're to stay out of the past. What we did, was done to protect you. Now if you just take a seat then we can talk about what happened," Seth said, louder than he had meant to.

"You're going to tell me who Haley really is? I'll give you the highlights you missed while sleeping." Marshall restated what he had already known about his mother.

"Your mother is right. The deeper you dig the higher the chance that the two of you will be put in danger. You more so than your mother. It isn't safe for you to continue. We'll tell you what you want to know."

"What I want to know or what you feel like sharing? What's her real last name?"

"I won't tell you that. If that information is shared, you'll delve into the past and put yourself in harm's way. We can give you the basics of what happened and your father's first name. Your Mom can tell you what you want to know about him, just not the last names. It doesn't matter who they once were."

Marshall laughed at that statement. "Everything matters. Isn't that what instilled in us?"

Seth was about to reply when a nurse came in.

"Is there a problem in here? Your raised voices are disturbing the other patients," the nurse said and then looked to Marshall. She hadn't seen him before and he was the one they were all focusing on. "Are you related to the patient? His visitor's are restricted to family only."

"Turns out I'm not. Sorry for disturbing your patients, that was not my intention. I'm leaving and won't be back," Marshall replied, before heading out the door.

"Marshall!" Seth called out hoping to get him to come back.

"Boys go get your brother," Seth said, when he didn't hear the sound of boots coming back towards the room.

"Not this time, Dad. Marshall needs space to work it out. Since you two seem to still be holding out secrets, I think it's time you shared them with Neal and me."

The nurse was confused about what was going on and wanted nothing more then to get out of the room. "I'm going to have to insist that you remain calm and keep the noise to a minimum. Mr. Mann here is recovering from his injuries. I'll also have the nurse's desk to keep that man out of this room. I'm not sure how he was able to come up here."

"Don't restrict him from this room. He's my son and is allowed to see me if he wants."

"Sir, he just said…" the nurse started.

"I know what he said, but he's my son. It's a family argument that needs to be dealt with."

The nurse nodded. She had heard the rumors flying around the hospital about what happened the night of Mr. Mann's admittance. That must have been the non biological son.

"Just keep it down in here," the nurse said before leaving the room.

"Now how about those answers?" Neal asked.

"I won't give you anything that I wasn't going to already tell Marshall. The same rules apply, but I need a promise from both of you," Seth responded.

"Depends on what you want. We won't go against Marshall right now," Danny said.

"Promise me that you will keep an eye on your brother and keep him safe. The people that could come after him are lethal."

Seth watched as both of them nodded in agreement with what was asked. Haley reached over and grabbed his hand as the two of them began to tell Neal and Danny about the past.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary was pacing outside Marshall's hotel room. It was damn near six, the pizza was getting cold and she was worried about Marshall. It was making her angrier by the second. Her partner was never late and to be an hour late had all sorts of horrid images going through her mind.

She heard the sound of the elevator arriving and footsteps coming down the hall. Mary turned and saw Marshall walking purposefully towards her. She was about to make a remark when she got a good look at how red his face was. It was a look she had never seen before. The anger part of it yes, but not the haunted look in his eyes. It was something that wasn't supposed to happen to him. He was gold to her and nobody was supposed to steal that away from him.

"Marshall?"

His head snapped up and when he saw her his eyes moved to the watch on his wrist.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't realize how late I was."

"It happens, how many times have I done that to you? Let's just get into the room and you can tell me what's going on. Don't even tell me nothing either, because I've seen a child lost in the woods that didn't look as bad as you do now."

"Thanks for the compliment," Marshall replied sarcastically, before swiping his card into the door.

"Sorry, you know that I'm not good at this."

Marshall just nodded. He wasn't upset with her as much as with himself. Mary wouldn't let this go until he talked to her and there was no way the information he received from Samuel could be relayed. His partner wasn't dumb and would know that someone was helping him dig for information. It was something he wasn't ready to share yet.

"Let me warm up the pizza. I'm sure it's cold by now."

Mary grabbed the box out of his hands and set it on the table.

"I don't give a damn about the pizza. You're more upset today than you were yesterday. What happened?"

Marshall took a deep breath and looked at Mary. She was watching him like a hawk. He explained about going to the hospital and what transpired there minus the fact that his mother wasn't who he thought she was. If he did that it would lead to questions about how he knew and it wasn't something that he was willing to share.

Looking into the past wasn't going to go well. The fact that Seth was worried that someone would come after them spoke volumes.

"Seth wouldn't reveal names? What the hell? How are you supposed to get answers to the questions if there are restrictions on what they'll tell you?"

"I'll find out on my own. One way or another, I'll find out."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Just keep being my friend. No matter what we find out, promise you'll still be my friend."

"You can't get rid of me, Marshall. I'll stand by you no matter what," Mary replied, moving forward and wrapping her arms around him. She knew he needed to hold onto someone and she was more than happy to be that someone.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Three weeks after receiving the call from Haley, Cal sat in his office digging through information on Victor Conti. The man was in his late sixties. His grandson Angelo had taken over as second in command of the business fulfilling his father, Peter's shoes. Peter had been dead for forty-four years. Victor had waited a long time before allowing his grandson to fill that position.

Checking in with a few old friends had told Cal that Victor hadn't forgotten Carson Fisher. The man had wished Carson had left a legacy for him to extract his revenge on. The undercover agent in their organization had forewarned if Victor ever found out about Haley and her son that he would definitely settle the score.

Thirty-eight years without trouble and now it felt like a ticking time bomb was waiting to go off. He had done his own research on Marshall and his time in the service. With what he found out, he understood Haley and Seth's fear. Not only was he and his partner one of the number one teams in the service, they were labeled as determined, resourceful and damn good at getting what they want.

The problem was what Marshall wanted could get him killed. His computer pinged with an email warning that at least one source had been digging into Seth's past and several more on Haley's. When the ping came up that someone had found Haley Brooks from Park City, Utah, he knew it was time to take a trip to Albuquerque and talk some sense into Seth and Haley. They couldn't protect Marshall if he unknowingly set himself up as a target.

It was time for them to reveal the truth. He would be there when it happened. Cal, Seth and Haley had to come clean to him. At this rate whoever was looking up the information on Seth and Haley and finding answers, it wouldn't take long before they made the connection to Philadelphia. That trail had the potential to bring Victor and Angelo back into the picture and on a mission to extract revenge on the most innocent person involved in all of this.

Cal picked up the phone and made two calls while booking a flight out. The first was to Haley to advise her that he was coming to talk to her and Seth. The second call was placed to Stan McQueen. He needed Marshall's boss and partner to bring him into the office so that they could explain the past.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall was driving into work when his burn phone went off.

"Samuel, what do you have?"

"Haley and Cooper Brooks lived in Park City, Utah. Cooper was out of town on a business trip in Philadelphia when he was killed. Haley Brooks died shortly afterwards in a car crash. They said it was because she was distraught over her husband's murder."

"I'm assuming that we're talking about my parents."

"That's correct. I'm going to Philadelphia to do some digging around on Cooper Brooks's death."

"When are you leaving? I would like to come with. I need to see this through."

Samuel wanted to tell Marshall to stay where he was, but learned enough in the last few weeks that he could be just as stubborn as his partner. He knew no matter what he said Marshall would end up in Philadelphia. It would probably be better if they were together.

"I'm leaving tonight."

"I'm going to take the first flight out. I just need to call Stan."

"I'll meet you there," Samuel replied hanging up.

Marshall immediately hit speed dial two.

"McQueen."

"Hey Stan, you know how we were discussing your desire for me to take a vacation to think things through?"

"Yes, Seth has been out of the hospital for a week, you haven't talked to them since the day after he woke up and have been burying yourself in your work. Why?"

"I was thinking maybe you were right. If you don't mind I'd like to take the next couple of weeks off."

"Are you alright?" Stan asked concerned.

"Yeah, I just need some space away from everyone to think things through. Would it be okay of I left today?"

"You can, but Marshall I would appreciate it if you would check in periodically with me or Mary."

"That I can do."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not sure. I'll know when I get there," Marshall replied, hating lying to Stan.

"Let me know when you get to where you're going. I want to know your location. Make sure you tell your partner also. I don't want to deal with a Mary that's freaked out because she doesn't know where you're at. She doesn't do well when you're out of sight."

"I'll give her a call."

"You're sure nothing's wrong."

"Positive. Thanks Stan."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary heard her cell phone ringing, but was in the middle of lecturing her witness about following the rules again. She was at her wits end with this particular one and before she shot her she decided to check her phone.

Signaling for her witness to wait a minute she grabbed the phone opened it up and saw a message. Now even more perturbed as she'd hope the call was going to allow her to leave she turned back to her witnesses.

"This is the last warning I'm giving you Lilly. Either you figure out how to follow the rules or I'll have you thrown out of WITSEC so fast that you won't know what hit you."

"You can't do that I'm a protected witness. My testimony helped put away a gun smuggler."

"Your testimony is over and you're in breach of your agreement with the Marshal Service. I can toss you out and if you don't think Jimmy had friends then you're dumber than you look," Mary said heatedly, before walking out of the apartment.

Mary slammed her car door and realized that she missed Marshall out in the field. Stan had been letting him do some witness check ups with his group, but kept him away from Mary's. She was more volatile and the last thing Marshall needed was something that could set off his temper.

The last three weeks had proven to be trying for all of them. Marshall adamantly refused to have anything to do with his family and would occasionally snap at Mary and Stan. They were trying to be patient with him because of the circumstances, but even Stan had been getting close to yelling at him. A couple days ago, Stan had gone as far as telling Marshall he should consider taking some vacation time to clear his head.

They both knew something was going on, but they weren't sure what it was. Marshall had been more distant with them in the last two weeks. They had hoped Eleanor would have found something by now, but she had got caught somehow digging around in Marshall's past and was no longer able to help.

Mary turned her cell phone on and listened to the message.

"Hey Mare, just wanted to let you know that I decided to take Stan's advice and use some vacation time. Not sure at the moment where I'm going, but promised Stan that I would let him know when I arrived. I promise to check in periodically to keep you from having a coronary. The truth is that I've been a pain to deal with the last two weeks and taking my frustrations out on you and Stan. The only thing that I can say is that I'm sorry. This isn't either of your faults and my behavior was unacceptable. You've been helping me deal with this mess and didn't deserve that. I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. I'll see you in a few weeks."

Mary didn't know if she should be relieved or worried. The change was sudden, yet the message was Marshall. Starting the car she decided to head back to the Sunshine Building. She and Stan were going to discuss exactly what Marshall had said.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall turned off his cell phone and made sure that his burn phone became his primary phone. He didn't want Mary or Stan tracing him until he found the answers he was searching for. He knew if they found out about the trip, they'd more than likely ask Seth and his mother if Philadelphia held any meaning to them.

If that happened he had a feeling the Mann family would be arriving to stop him from finding out the truth. A part of him knew that he was close to getting his answers and if he was honest with himself the truth scared him.

His thoughts were interrupted by the announcement of his plane boarding. Looking out the window he took in one last view of Albuquerque. Somehow he couldn't help but think that once he had his answers nothing would ever look the same again.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Stan was filling out some paperwork and enjoying the silence of the office when his phone rang.

"McQueen."

"Chief McQueen, this is Chief Wilkens from the WITSEC office in Spokane, Washington."

Stan closed his eyes and briefly wondered what Marshall could have gotten himself into already, but realized when he saw the clock it had only been a half hour since he'd talked to Marshall.

"How can I help you?"

"I need you to arrange a conference room where we can meet with Inspector Marshall Mann."

"Why are you looking for my inspector and exactly who is the we that you're referring to?"

Cal pinched the bridge of his nose. He should've known that nothing would be simple. He had heard that McQueen was protective of Marshall and his partner. The tone he used was that of a parent getting ready to defend their child.

"I'm not a liberty to reveal that information over the phone. My flight leaves in a half and hour. If it will make you feel better, Inspector Shannon and you can be in the room when we meet with Inspector Mann."

"The meeting will be arranged and we were going to be there no matter what. You don't call the shots in my office. What time should I expect you?" Stan asked, figuring that until he knew what was happening he wouldn't reveal the fact that Marshall wasn't there.

"We should arrive in about five hours," Cal replied.

"I'll have the conference room ready," Stan said, hanging up he hit speed dial two. He hung up when he saw Mary exit the elevator.

"Mary, my office."

"I only yelled and threatened to kick her out of the program. I didn't actually do it."

"What are you talking about?" Stan asked.

"Nothing, you wanted me for something."

Stan knew that something had happened, but right now that was the least of his concerns.

"Did Marshall call you and tell you where he was going?"

"He called, but didn't know where he was going. He did promise to check in periodically. Why?"

Stan explained about the phone call he'd just received.

"What the hell is going on? Marshall doesn't need any more problems."

"Chief Wilkens is going to explain to us what he wants with Marshall and if I deem it appropriate then we can call Marshall back."

"Sounds like a plan. Has Marshall ever dealt with the Spokane office?" Mary asked, knowing they hadn't since she started.

"No."

"I don't like this, Stan. Something isn't right about this."

"I know, Mary."


	6. Chapter 6

Haley was pacing around the house like a caged animal. She was scared for Marshall right now. The fact that Cal was flying out to Albuquerque meant that something had triggered his response. He was going to pick them up at the airport and bring them to see Stan, Mary and Marshall.

"Haley, please stop pacing. In the end, Cal is right. Marshall needs to know the whole truth and in order to get to that he's going to need someone other than us that can verify the facts are true with documentation."

"We should've told him a long time ago. I haven't talked to him in almost three weeks."

"Hindsight isn't always what it's cracked up to be. We knew going into this that we made a difficult choice. We never expected Marshall to become a Marshal or to find out. I shouldn't have tried to restrict the information we were willing to tell him. He's always been too curious for his own good. The fact is that we chose to do what we thought was best for him at the time and now it's coming to bite us in the proverbial ass."

"How can you be so calm about this? We're destroying our son."

"I'm angrier than hell that the nurse let it slip. It was a mistake on her part and she's had to deal with the consequences of that. Do you honestly think I enjoy the fact that he refuses to call me Dad anymore? I hate that fact that we've caused him so much pain and that it's caused our other sons to question us. We've lived the lie for thirty-eight years. It doesn't make it right, but it can't be undone either. When we see Marshall, we tell him the whole truth and hope in time that he can forgive us."

Haley sat on the couch next to Seth and relished the comfort of his arm wrapped around her.

"Every day for the last thirty-eight years, I talked to Marshall. He wasn't the type to be afraid to talk to his mother about anything. We have a bond that even I can't explain. I love them all, but Marshall has always been closer to me. To know that I've destroyed that bond breaks my heart. It hurts not to hear his voice every day. I want my son back."

"So do I. We have to wait until Cal arrives to see how he wants to do this. From there we'll accept responsibility for our actions."

"Will it be enough to get Marshall back?"

"In time, he'll put the pieces together. We're going to have to be patient with him. I can't even begin to imagine how he's going to respond to the truth. Neal and Danny are going to need to know Marshall is finding out today."

"Seth, they're pretty angry with us also. They understand, but they're angry."

"We hurt their big brother. They don't show or say it, but the two of them love him. They're going to stand by him and that's the best thing they can do right now. We fabricated your past in order to protect our family's future. They have a right to be angry about not knowing who you were."

"I know that you're right, but I'm scared Seth. I've never been this frightened before. There's too much to lose."

"We'll find a way to make things okay. Why don't you rest and I'll call the boys. You haven't slept well since this started. You'll need your strength to face Marshall today," Seth said, moving to settle Haley against him without aggravating his injury.

Once she fell asleep he called Danny and Neal. He was proud of the two of them for standing up for Marshall. It was what his eldest son deserved.

Seth's mind wandered to Marshall and his fears for their relationship. He hoped in time he would earn the title of Dad back. Genetically, he was Carson's son, but that man lost everything by returning back to his old ways. Carson never got the privilege to see Marshall enter this world, the look of wonder in his eyes as he took in his environment for the first time, his first word, his first step and the joyous sound of having Marshall run up to greet him and hug him tight when he came home from work. His biological father had missed out on the only good thing he'd ever created in this world. In some ways, Seth was grateful for that or he wouldn't have had the honor of being called Daddy by the sweet little boy Marshall was.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall landed in Philadelphia and checked into his hotel. Not ready to tell Stan what he was doing he sent a text telling him he stopped for the night and would let him know what his final destination was when he figured it out.

Marshall grabbed his laptop out and began to start a search for information on the murder of Carson Brooks from Park City Utah. He needed the address of the murder so he could find out what precinct handled the case. It was the only way he'd be able to get more information on him.

His burn cell rang.

"Marshall."

"Are you checked in?"

"Yes, Samuel. Do you know what precinct handled the murder case? I was just about to look it up."

"No need. We're going to meet an acquaintance at Bobby's Burger Palace."

"Should I meet you there?" Marshall asked, this was something he wasn't accustomed to. He was used to knowing how to work with Mary. Working with Samuel he wasn't sure what the playbook was.

"I'm in the lobby. Be down in ten minutes."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary was impatiently waiting in the conference room. She and Stan had closed the blinds to prevent Wilkens from knowing that Marshall wasn't there. Once they knew it was safe they'd get in touch with her partner.

"Mary, they're on their way up," Stan called out, as he moved to meet them at the door.

Stan waited with his hands in his pockets trying to pretend to be as casual as possible. He didn't like being left out in the dark. His thoughts couldn't go any further as the elevator doors opened and Stan stared in surprise.

"You must be Chief McQueen," Cal said, reaching his hand out.

Stan shook Cal's hand while staring in surprise at Haley and Seth Mann.

"Haley and Seth, what are you doing here?"

"Let's just go in the conference room and we can explain it to Marshall, you and I'm assuming Mary," Seth replied.

"Actually, it will just be me and Mary. Marshall isn't here right now. I didn't know who Cal here was or who he was referring to and I wasn't putting Marshall through anything else."

"Where's my son?" Haley asked worried.

"He's supposed to check in with me, when he gets to his destination. Marshall didn't have a set plan. He just needed some time away to clear his head. To say the least he's been unpleasant to be around since this mess started."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Cal asked heatedly.

"You call me up out of nowhere wanting to talk to one of my inspectors and won't tell me why. Then the next thing I know, you're saying we are coming to talk to him. After everything that's happened, I didn't trust you. Marshall was already gone and the three of you are going to start answering some questions," Stan said determined.

"You'll call Marshall and bring him in after this?" Haley asked.

"I'm not trying to keep him from you Haley. He requested his vacation time before I received the meeting request."

"Why don't we try to conference him in?" Mary suggested. "More than likely he'll turn around once he receives the call."

"Good idea. Let's move this to the conference room and we'll try to get Marshall on the line."

They moved into the conference room and Mary dialed Marshall's phone which went into voicemail. She tried a couple more times before heading out of the room so that Marshall didn't hear his parents without an explanation.

"Marshall, I need you to call us back," Mary explained what was happening before heading back into the conference room.

"I left him a message and the conference phone number. So why don't we cut to the chase Wilkens, what are you doing here with Seth and Haley? How does this concern Marshall? Are you the one running interference in our search and more importantly why?" Mary demanded.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall and Samuel were waiting for Samuel's contact to arrive. Marshall felt his regular cell phone vibrate several times, but ignored it until he could be alone to talk to Stan or Mary.

The hostess showed a man to their table. He sat down and looked at Marshall before turning towards Samuel.

"You don't usually bring me a guest."

"I like to mix things up once in awhile," Samuel replied to the man. "Marshall, this is Detective Mark Owens formerly of the 9th district precinct. He and his partner Lenny were on the Carson Parks case."

"So you were wondering about a murder that took place in the late 1960's that I worked on. What's the interest in the case?"

"Someone sent us here saying that our case reminded him a lot of the murder of a visitor to Philadelphia. The boss sent me here to check it out and mentioned that Samuel might know someone who would have the answers," Marshall replied, trying to determine how trustworthy this source was.

Mark Owens stared at Marshall for a long time and then moved to Samuel who nodded his head.

"Since Samuel trusts you, I guess that means I can to. Carson Brooks was sent to Philly on a business trip by his current employer from what we first were told as you're already aware of. We ran his prints through the system and wouldn't you know we came back with two hits. The first matched Carson Brooks from Park City, Utah and the other was that of Carson Fisher from none other than Philly."

"He was from here originally?" Marshall asked.

"Yeah, him and his wife Haley. They married when they were young and from what we were able to tell. She was the one who informed us he'd left for a business trip. Gave us the name of his employer and that he was a salesperson for the company he was employed by. Apparently, Carson Parks took up a side job with a person of interest by the F.B.I. We felt bad for his wife, she didn't know about her husband's side job," the detective replied.

"What exactly was his side job?"

"Let me give you a part of Carson Parks or Fisher's past. It will help explain what happened. Carson managed to get himself mixed up with Victor and Peter Conti. He worked at one of the warehouses Victor owned. Peter overheard Carson talking to another man and got recruited to help be a lookout and worked his way up higher in the business. He kept his day job so his wife wouldn't know about his criminal activities, according to his testimony. Conti's run a gun smuggling and drug running operation. Carson gunned down Peter Conti during one of their runs. Some say it was an accident and others that it was on purpose. We arrested him with the gun in his hand. He swore it was self defense, but who really knows. At that point Carson was pretty high in the chain. Victor had taken him under his wing along with Peter. Figured they would be the first and second in command until Peter's wife gave him a son."

The detective stopped to take a sip of coffee before continuing.

"Carson testified against the men in Victor's organization in return for a new life for him and Haley. When he was found dead there was information mentioning a rival operation to Conti's that Carson had managed to become a part of while using his company's business trips to cover it up. Apparently, he couldn't get out of the lifestyle or missed the money. He paid the price for it. I highly doubt that the murder would have anything to do with your case unless the grandson was involved. Victor runs a tight ship and keeps Angelo in line."

"Thank you for the information, my friend," Samuel said before the detective got up to leave.

After the detective left, Samuel looked at Marshall's face. He could tell the younger man was hurting. The truth is not always a pleasant thing.

"Are you alright?"

"My whole life has been a lie built around people enforcing the law and I end up being the son of a gun smuggler and drug dealer. It's amazing that Seth could even stand to look at me."

"Marshall, you probably don't want to hear this, but you might want to consider the fact that Seth Mann does love you. He took you in as his own and if he was hard on you maybe it was because of Carson's past. He could've been trying to protect you in his own way."

"Maybe, I don't know."

"You're confused and rightfully so, but considering who the men are your biological father spent time with, I think you would be better off dropping this search. If Carson killed Victor's son and word gets out that someone is looking into Carson's life you might get some unpleasant visitors."

"Thanks for your help. I know that you collect favors in return for payment and as long as it's within the legal boundaries of my job I will repay the debt."

"Take care of yourself. If you need help feel free to contact me. The same goes for Mary."

"Thank you," Marshall replied, shaking his hand before leaving.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary and Stan sat on the opposite side of the table from Natalie, Seth and Cal. No one really knew how to start this off.

"Look I realize that this may be uncomfortable for you, but honestly the only thing I care about is Marshall's well being. Let's get the information out on the table and then we'll talk to my partner about what is going on," Mary said adamantly.

"How complicated is this story?" Stan asked.

"It's a long complicated one. I'll make it as brief as possible without skipping any of the major points," Haley said.

"How long have you been in Witness Protection?" Stan asked.

"I was twenty-one when we went into the program," Haley said softly. "I married Carson after we graduated from high school. Cal was the inspector signed to us. Carson worked at a warehouse while I did some secretarial work during the day. It was where he met Peter Conti. The two became friends and Peter introduced him to his father, Victor. Carson started pulling a lot of double shifts and would be gone more than he was home. I never knew that Victor had taken a shine to my late husband or that the Conti's were noted for dealing in weapons and drugs. This was all done through operations at his warehouse."

Mary felt her stomach plummet at the mention of drug and weapons. It explained why they were worried about Marshall.

"So what happened?" Mary asked.

"To this day, I don't know if I know the truth. The only thing I know is that a shooting occurred and Carson ended up killing Peter Conti. The police raided the building and arrested Carson and the others. The D.O.J. offered Carson and I a new life and immunity for his testimony. He had been my high school sweetheart and I never apparently knew him. The man I fell in love with never would've involved himself in these kinds of activities."

"That explains the how you ended up in WITSEC. Where does the story go from there?" Stan knew there was more. Seth had to enter the picture somewhere.

Seth squeezed Haley's hand and took over from there.

"I mentioned the last time I was here that I did a stint in WITSEC," Seth said, looking to Mary.

"I remember it was when you were pissed at Marshall for keeping his witness safe," Mary replied.

"Cal's former partner retired and I was transferred into WITSEC. We became partners. I could see how miserable Haley was in her marriage and offered her the chance to be relocated elsewhere without Carson. She adamantly refused to break her vows. The two of us started spending more time together and then a year later I was moved into the Fugitive Task force in Spokane, Washington."

"I could tell that Haley and Seth were falling for each other and knew it would end poorly. Seth had a promising career ahead of him and I didn't want to see him lose that. Plus, you could add his outlook that no one could change into that equation. Once a criminal, always a criminal. For his sake, I put his name in and told the boss it would be the perfect spot for Seth. The boss agreed and he left."

"Carson had been staying on the straight and narrow as far as we could determine. Things between him and I were never the same after the shooting. I didn't love the man I was married to, but I had loved the man he'd been before. We couldn't go back or forward. Our life together was at a standstill. We tried to make it work, but suddenly Carson started spending more time at the office or traveling out of town on business. He'd come back with gifts he couldn't really afford and yet our finances were fine," Haley recalled.

"Haley called me and I found out that Carson was up to his old tricks. It had taken some time to figure it all out and by the time we did it was too late. Carson had hooked up with Vincent's competition and was giving him information on how to get ahead. The boss sent him to Philly and he was discovered by Victor while he was there. With the information on the driver's license we arranged a car accident to make it look like Haley Brooks died after hearing the news about her husband." Cal took up from where Haley left off.

"I then became Haley Sinclair and was relocated to Spokane, Washington."

"You played matchmaker," Seth said to Cal.

"They deserved happiness," Cal shrugged.

"She was located near my apartment. I ran into her the first time and couldn't believe it. We arranged to meet and catch up over dinner the next night. I never believed in love at first sight until I met Haley in Utah. I stayed, we started to run into each other and since Carson was dead, I finally asked Haley Sinclair out. We dated for about a month, before she found out she was pregnant," Seth recalled the day Haley agreed to marry him.

"Wait a minute; if you and Carson weren't happy then how exactly did this whole pregnancy happen?" Mary asked confused.

"We gave it one last try to make our relationship work. He died the day I packed my bags and left. Carson gave me one of the three greatest gifts I've ever received that night. That morning when he left he told me he'd be working late and then had to fly out of town. I knew the pattern and what it meant. He knew that I wouldn't be there when he returned."

Cal jumped in to spare Haley anymore pain.

"I had to move Haley fast because of the fact that Carson had his Utah license with all the information."

Mary and Stan looked at each other. Something was being left out, but they couldn't put their hand on it yet.

"Alright so how did Marshall's saliva test fail? There's no way he would've screwed that up."

Stan knew Marshall well enough to know that he would've made sure that it would be handled properly.

"I switched the results," Seth said, before explaining what happened that day he caught Marshall swabbing his glass.

"Back to the present, how much of a threat is this Victor Conti?" Stan asked.

"He'd kill Marshall if he thought for one second that he was Carson's son. You'd have to be able to prove to him that he's not," Cal replied.

"I'll call Marshall in," Stan said. They had the information they needed. "If he has any more questions, but still refuses to talk to you, then I'll pass them along. Marshall needs time to heal and you _**will**_ give it to him."

"Why don't you boys get some coffee? Haley, could you please stay here for a couple of minutes?" Mary asked.

The men nodded and walked out.

"What didn't you tell us? There's something that even Seth doesn't know," Mary said, trying to keep her voice calm and soothing.

"It doesn't matter, Mary. The past is the past."

"It will matter to Marshall. If you want to have him in your life, you can't continue to lie or cover things up. It will never work if you do."

Haley looked at Mary. She had vowed to not tell a soul about that last night with Carson.

"Some parts of the past aren't worth sharing. Marshall has enough to deal with. I don't want to do damage that can't be undone."

Mary knew the reaction to her question, the defensive nature and the worry in the eyes. She's seen it before on victims.

"He raped you," Mary said bluntly.

Haley looked up in shock. She hadn't expected to hear those words. They were never spoken to her and she never wanted to think of herself as the victim.

"Mary, I'll tell you, but this has to remain between us. Marshall and Seth are to never know."

"I can't promise that, as I won't lie to Marshall if he asks. He can't take another betrayal."

"If it doesn't come up?"

"Then I won't share your secret."

"Carson and I had a huge fight over his job. I told him that I wasn't the naïve school girl that I'd been the first time around. He was doing something that was illegal. I knew it from the gifts and things he'd buy. There was no way it could be bought with what he made at his job. Carson stormed out of the house and I packed my things up. It was late and I was tired. He usually didn't return after a fight until the following day so I went to sleep," Haley said taking a calming breath and was surprised when she felt Mary's hand cover hers. "He walked in, slamming the door into the wall, waking me up. He was always in the mood after consuming alcohol and decided to join me in bed that night. It wasn't rape as I didn't say no. He was still legally my husband. I felt dirty and used afterwards because he got up packed his suitcase and left for his business trip to Philadelphia."

"That was the night Marshall was conceived," Mary whispered.

"Mary, you know how sensitive he is. It would devastate him to know he was conceived that way. While I hated Carson for that night as it was just sex, I could never get rid of the baby. Marshall was a part of me and the only good thing that ever came out of that marriage. Carson to me was the donor, but Seth has always been his father."

"I won't bring this up unless he asks, but you might want to tell him. I know it's hard to hear and it will hurt him, but if he finds out somehow you'll lose him forever. He won't give you another chance after this. I understand your need to protect him as a child, but by not telling him you took a risk with his life anyways. In our jobs he might have come across this Victor Conti without knowing anything and could have been killed without ever knowing he was in danger. Haley, I'm not trying to be judgmental, but I know Marshall well enough to know that he's the type of person that needs all the facts."

"I need time to think about this," Haley whispered.

"Fair enough. Why didn't you tell Seth what happened?"

"Seth never liked Carson and when the two of us became closer that feeling grew stronger. A part of me was worried if he knew what happened that he would've talked me into an abortion. A part of me feared that he would blame Marshall for what happened since Carson wasn't around to hate."

"I never would have blamed our son for that," Seth said, causing both women to turn towards the door. "Mary, could you please give my wife and I a few minutes?"

Mary looked towards Haley who indicated she'd be fine and it was okay for her to leave.

"If you need anything call. I'm heading home, but Stan has my phone number," Mary said, looking at Seth, but realizing that he wasn't angry. Stunned would have been the better word.

Seth closed the door behind Mary and stared at Haley.

"I always wondered what happened. Cal mentioned that you and Carson weren't sleeping in the same bed for almost a year," Seth said calmly.

"I was ashamed that it happened. Seth, you hated Carson and it wasn't a secret. There was a reason you got out of WITSEC and it was because of me. I really didn't know what you would think of Marshall if you found out. I was scared enough telling you I was pregnant. We had barely been dating. I didn't think you'd want to raise Carson's son. When you proposed, I was so happy that I didn't even think about it between planning for the wedding and the baby. After that it didn't matter to me. We were happy."

"Haley, I'm not angry. A little disappointed that you didn't tell me, but we were younger and maybe you were right. I probably wouldn't have looked at Marshall the same way. In some ways I'm glad you didn't tell me right away. The day Marshall was born and I saw those eyes and when he clenched his hand around my finger I knew he was going to be special. He stole my heart even quicker than you did. I hate to agree with Mary, but you do need to tell Marshall the truth. We can't lie to him anymore or we'll lose any chance we have to regain his trust. I want my son back," Seth said, moving towards Haley and pulling her into a hug.

"We need to make things right. I love you, Seth Andrew Mann."

'I love you too. We'll get through this. I promise that I will do everything in my power to not lose my temper and be patient with Marshall. I can't promise perfection and I will need you to stop me from doing anything stupid. Marshall and I have a wide bridge to cross, but I intend to make that journey and come out with a better relationship with him. I need things to change. I want to be the father to him that he so richly deserved."

Haley leaned in against Seth and was grateful for his strength. They would need it when Marshall finally agreed to talk to them.


	7. Chapter 7

Detective Owens left the burger joint and headed to the bar his former partner owned. The trip down memory lane made him want to see his old friend.

"Lenny," he greeted his old partner before sitting on the bar stool.

"What do I owe the pleasure, partner."

"Just got talking to a man about the past, they thought one of their deaths looked similar to that Carson Parks fellow we found dead all those years ago. They asked a few questions and I told them what I knew. They decided it couldn't be related. It sounded like they'd be headed out in the morning. There's nothing worse then a false lead. The case reminded me of the good old days and since I was near, thought I'd drop in."

"Who was the person?" Lenny asked.

"Someone named Marshall. Seemed like a nice kid."

"Can you excuse me a minute, Mark? I need to get something from the back."

"Take your time. The joy of being retired is there's never a need to be in a hurry."

"I'll drink to that when I come back."

Mark nodded and Lenny went into his office. Double checking the area Lenny grabbed his phone and called a number he'd rather have forgotten.

"This better be good, Lenny. I told you that you weren't to get in touch with me ever again."

"Yes, but you wanted to know if anyone had ever come back looking for information on Connor. Someone just did. It isn't much. He was told a case he was working on was similar to what happened with Fisher."

"Where is he staying?"

"I don't know," Lenny relayed all the information Mark had told him.

"Good job. Don't call me again, unless you have more information." Victor replied, hanging up and then looked at one of his guards.

"Get me Angelo and a team ready to go."

/\\

Marshall had set up a flight home for tomorrow morning. He actually had a small understanding to why the truth was kept from him. Mary and he had dealt with many people stuck in theses types of circumstances. The main goal of the parents with children was to protect them.

He had so many thoughts running through his head that he couldn't separate them. He was conflicted about his feelings for Seth and his Mom. Part of him was still angry, but another part of his mind was beginning to tell him to just go home and talk to them. Knowing he would never get his mind clear without talking it through with someone, he pulled out his cell phone and hit speed dial one.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary had driven home shortly after her conversation with Haley. She felt guilty for not hearing Seth near the door. It wasn't the best way for him to find out and it took the option out of Haley's hands. She hadn't meant for that to happen. She just knew something was missing from the story.

Mary couldn't help, but let her thoughts drift to Marshall. She was worried how he'd react to the news when he found out. He was already confused and finding out your father's a criminal is hard enough. She knew that lesson too well, but to find out how he was conceived, that was something Mary wasn't prepared to witness. The only thing she knew was it was her turn to be the rock. Marshall had been hers all these years.

It was bothering her that she didn't know where Marshall was. He was more than capable of taking care of himself, but knowing the kind of people his father had dealt with made her antsy.

She had barely sat down on the couch when her cell phone rang. Not in the mood to deal with Jinx or Brandi she checked the caller id and quickly responded.

"Marshall?"

"Hey, Mare."

"What's wrong? Where are you? Are you okay?" Mary shot out in a hurry unsure as to which question took precedence.

Marshall heard the concern in Mary's voice, but still wasn't ready to answer the questions she had. He needed answers. He was about to ask when Mary began to speak again.

"You must have received my message. We had a meet with a Marshal from Utah that wanted to speak to you and he was bringing some people with him."

"My parents?" Marshall asked, not realizing the slip.

"Yeah," Mary said, surprised by him calling them his parents. Seth hadn't earned that title in awhile. She missed the fact that he knew.

"What did they want?"

"Marshall, there's a lot of information. You sure you want me to tell you? Some of it isn't pleasant."

"The fact that my biological father was a murder and worked for the Conti family or that my Mom never knew what he did. That Carson Fisher couldn't stay away from a life of crime and put Mom in danger and in the end caused himself to get killed. Nothing like a convict in the gene pool," Marshall snapped.

Mary was about to agree when she realized all that he revealed.

"How do you know all of this and where in the hell are you?" Mary demanded.

"Fill in the gaps Mare. Please just tell me what you know. I'll answer your questions when we're done."

Mary told him what he needed to hear, but left off some of the details that needed to be adressed by his mother. The silence on the other end was deafening to her. The only reassuring sound was his breathing. It let her know he was still there.

"Marshall, please talk to me. You're scaring me," Mary didn't care if she admitted it. Somehow she didn't do scared unless Marshall was involved. He was always hurting either physically or emotionally when she felt scared.

Marshall took a deep breath. "I'm just really confused right now, Mare. My entire life was about the good guys beating the bad guys. Fighting for the right side of law. I was so proud of being a fifth generation Marshal. I'm not that any more. I'm the son of a murderer. How do I reconcile that with being in law enforcement? I dirty the name of the Marshal's Service."

"I'm the daughter of a bank robber who is on the F.B.I. most wanted list. Do you think that I'm less of a person or incapable of being able to enforce the law? You are genetically related to a criminal. Your father is a U.S. Marshal. He's the man that raised you and has been there for you since the day you were born. He's not perfect and his methods prove that, but he does love you Marshall. It will take time to heal. It always does if you let it. I've held on to the pain since I was a little girl and it's damaged me in so many ways. You and I both know that. Don't do that to yourself."

"Mare…." Marshall stared, but was cut off.

"Marshall, just listen because this is way more touchy feely then I'm comfortable with. They lied to you and betrayed your trust, which will take time to heal. I understand that you're hurting and rightfully so. Before you torment yourself with the technicalities, anger, pain and anything else that comes with it, just give them a chance to talk to you."

"I'm not ready to talk to them yet."

"Don't force it. That's not what I was hinting at. Just be the normal open-minded person that I adore."

"Sweet talker," Marshall said trying to attempt a little tease.

"Nice try, but I think it's too early for that. Now you owe me some answers."

"I'm not sure what I am. After hearing everything a part of me understands, but why not tell me when I was older. I understand the protecting me as a child, but why continue the lie."

"Marshall, you need to talk to them. They're the ones with the answers. I will listen to anything you need to say, if you need a shoulder to lean on mine is here, but I can't tell you what your parents were thinking. You need to sit down and discuss this with them when you're ready. How long will it take you to get home?"

"My flight leaves tomorrow morning."

"Your flight? Where in the hell are you, Marshall?"

"Philadelphia. I followed a lead."

"Marshall, you need to get out of there and come home _now. _Do you realize that the man who wants to kill you is in the same city?"

"Mare…" Marshall started, but the sound of the door being kicked in prevented him from finishing. He quickly rolled over to grab his gun.

"U.S. Marshal, freeze," Marshall called out shooting as the first man entered the room, while rolling off the bed trying to get any form of cover he could. He managed to get two more shots off before a couple of men came over the bed and tackled him as he tried to move.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary was screaming Marshall's name through the phone as an image of him falling to the ground in the desert popped in her mind. She could hear the sounds of gunfire being exchanged a thump and the sound of flesh hitting flesh.

Her door opened up and she almost pulled her gun on Brandi. She was still listening to the struggle going on in the room and turned to Brandi.

"Brandi, call Stan for me," she said, writing down the number. "Tell him Marshall is in Philadelphia and is being attacked in his hotel room. I don't know where he's staying, but he needs to get him help and us on a plane out there yesterday."

"Mary…"

"Brandi, no questions just call. Marshall doesn't have time for you not to. _Call now_!

Brandi hadn't seen Mary this upset since Marshall was shot. She quickly did as she was told.

"McQueen."

"Stan, this is Brandi. Mary asked me to call you," Brandi said relaying the information. She heard Stan curse followed by another one. It sounded like an older man.

"Tell Mary that I've arranged a flight out and to meet us at the airport."

"Okay," Brandi said, hanging up and relaying the information.

Mary wasn't hearing anything on the other end now and was frightened. She began to grab her badge, gun, keys and jacket when she heard footsteps in Marshall's room.

"Marshall! Marshall! Answer me damn it," Mary said frustrated.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Samuel had been worried about the young Marshal and had decided to check on him before his flight left. The broken door had him yelling at an employee to call the police, but to let them know he was in the room.

When he entered, he could tell Marshall hadn't gone out without a fight. It was then he heard the voice and saw the phone on the ground.

"Mary, is that you?" Samuel asked recognizing the voice.

"Samuel? Where's Marshall. How bad is he hurt?"

"I don't know, he's not here Mary."

"I need the name of the hotel. We're flying out there tonight."

Samuel gave her the name.

"Samuel, fill me in on what you know as you leave the hotel now. If they know about Marshall they might know about you too. You need to leave."

Samuel made his way down the stairwell and out of the hotel while explaining to Mary everything he knew.

"Who is the contact that provided you with the information?"

"Detective Mark Owens," he answered giving Mary the address and phone number to reach him.

"He wouldn't have said anything Mary. Owens knows that if I'm looking for something to keep it on the sly. I didn't tell anyone and Marshall would've only talked to you or Stan."

"Owens is from the area. He might have talked to someone about it and that is how they found Marshall."

"Mary, we didn't meet at the hotel. I had him meet us at a restaurant. We didn't talk with the staff around and we made sure to be seated away from everyone else."

"We'll start with Owens. Do you have any connections you can call and ask for information without staying in Philadelphia?"

"I'll use my resources and call you back. What do you want me to do with Marshall's phone?"

"Are you staying at the same hotel?"

"No," Samuel replied, giving Mary his hotel.

"Go to the Marshal's Service office and turn it in there. Tell them it only gets turned over to me or Stan. I'll have Stan call them and be advised of your arrival and to make sure you get out of there without any problems."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary remembered very little of the drive to the airport. She knew that people honked at her and she damn near collided with a couple of them, but none of that mattered.

Slamming the brakes when she was at the tarmac, she parked the car, grabbed her away bag and boarded the plane. The co-pilot was securing the door behind her. It wasn't until she sat down next to Stan that she noticed the additional person.

"Do you really think that your coming is a good idea, Seth? You're still recovering from your injuries," Mary said, not wanting to point the other obvious reason.

"No matter how Marshall feels about me currently, he's still my son and I'm not going to sit at home waiting to hear if he's okay. Neal and Danny are also on the way. I'm healed enough to fire a gun if necessary. Stan knows if he left me behind I would just end up following you anyways."

Mary nodded and then relayed the conversation she'd had with Samuel.

"Did you know that he hired Samuel to help find the truth?" Stan asked Mary.

"No, I didn't. I should've known that he'd go somewhere for help. I don't know how he knew how to reach him though."

"Marshall took the card Samuel gave you out of the garbage can after you left. He thought someday that you might want it. Let me call the Marshal's office in Philadelphia to have them secure the crime scene and take jurisdiction over it. I'll get Marshall's phone back from them and see if he managed to leave us any information."

"If Victor finds out that Marshall is Carson's son he'll kill him," Seth reminded.

"Marshall won't willingly give up that information. He'll come up with a story to cover the real reason. The question is will Victor or Angelo keep him alive long enough for us to find him?" Stan asked.

"If they kill him they'll bring the Marshal's Service down on them. Victor isn't stupid. He'll hire thugs to work him over and dump him somewhere. If he lives then he lives. Marshall wouldn't be able to id Victor or Angelo. I doubt Victor will risk that much for something he has no proof of. He has too much to lose," Seth replied.

They fell into silence each lost in their own thoughts and worries about Marshall.

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Marshall regained consciousness only to find himself in a room surrounded by four masked thugs. By their size and stature he assumed that these were the remaining men who had attacked him in his room.

Ignoring the pain in his body, Marshall took in his surroundings. He appeared to be in a warehouse. The lights were only partially on. It was then he noticed the orange glow of a cigarette in the darkened area of the warehouse.

"So you finally decided to join us Marshall Mann."

"You have an interesting way of inviting a person to meet your acquaintance."

"What are you doing in Philadelphia?"

"I'm not a liberty to disclose that kind of information," Marshall replied, he had a feeling the man in the dark was one of the Conti family members.

"Boys, please show Mr. Mann here how I respond to people not answering my questions."

Marshall felt his head snap to the side with the first punch thrown. It was followed by two to his ribs.

"Enough," the man ordered.

"Now Mr. Mann or should I call you Marshall? I think I'll take the liberty of using your first name. This should be more personal."

"I'd introduce myself formally, but you haven't been as kind to share that information with me. What should I call you?"

"Nice try, Marshall. I don't share that information with someone until I decide what I'm going to do with them."

"What is the U.S. Marshal's Service looking into an old case for?"

"If you know I was looking then, I'm sure you have the answer to that question."

"This would go much easier on you if you'd just learn to cooperate."

"Well the problem with that is you're asking me about my job. I took an oath of office and I'm sworn to keep it."

Vincent Conti had to admire this Marshal. He had a feeling this one was a man of his word. Nevertheless he was going to get his answers. Something about him was bothering Victor. He couldn't place it yet, but he would. In the mean time he had work that needed to get done.

"Where are you from Marshall?"

"Where are any of us from really?"

Victor signaled to his men to remind him of the consequences of not answering. He watched them beat him up some more before signaling them to stop again.

"I do believe our new friend here needs some time to think about things so he can be more rational. Boys give him a reminder and then meet me at the usual location."

Marshall saw the glow of the cigarette fade and the sound of a door closing before the four men left behind began to beat him until everything went black.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Stan, Mary and Seth went to the hotel that Marshall had been staying at while Danny and Neal headed out to find Detective Mark Owens.

The crime lab was in the room along with some of the Marshal's from the Philadelphia office. Stan headed over towards them while Mary began to scan the room.

Marshall had put up one hell of a fight and Mary had the feeling from some of the blood stains on the wall and bed that he'd paid the price for it also. They had found two dead bodies. From the blood on the carpeting and from what she heard on the phone she assumed one of the dead was the first one to enter and the other had to be the second shot.

"They could only find two of Marshall's bullets and from the trail of blood leading out into the hallway he more than likely hit the third person."

Mary just nodded and Seth was deathly silent since they arrived. She knew it was hard enough to see this as his partner and best friend. The fact that it was for all purposes Seth's son would make it that much worse. Mary felt herself sympathizing with him for the first time since this started.

"Marshall, will be okay. We're going to get to him before they get a chance to kill him," Mary said with conviction.

"Yeah, but what is he suffering through in the mean time?" Seth asked, before walking out of the room. He didn't want this image burning in his head. Knowing the façade that he and Haley created was the reason their son was in this predicament.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Neal and Danny showed up at Owens house. Going up to the door they pounded on it until they heard the voice through the door.

"Who's there? I'm armed and have no problem shooting."

"U.S. Marshal's Neal and Danny Mann," Neal said as they both flipped their badges up to the door's peek hole.

They heard the sounds of the locks being undone just before the door swung open.

"What can I do for you?" Owens asked.

"Where were you tonight between nine and ten?" Neal asked.

"I was at my old partner's bar. If you need to check there were a ton of police officers from the 9th precinct."

"You had a conversation earlier with two men. Did you share this conversation with anyone and can we see your cell phone?" Danny asked.

"If you tell me what's going on, I will. There's nothing to hide."

"One of the men you were talking to was abducted out of his hotel room tonight. We're trying to locate him."

"I'm going to reach to my right and grab the cell phone off the counter, the only person I mentioned the conversation to, was my old partner. It brought back memories of our time on the force. I went to the bar to see him," Owens replied, handing over his cell phone slowly.

Danny took the phone and scrolled to see when the last phone call was made by Owens. No call was made during the time that Mary had received the call from Marshall. As a matter of fact the last call he had was early that morning.

"What's your partner's name and where do we find him?"

"His name is Lenny Warfield; he lives above the bar he owns."

"We'll need the address to that bar and you to come with us. There are more questions that we need to ask," Neal said, indicating for Lenny to walk ahead of them. Once he gave them the address, Danny pulled out his cell phone.

"Shannon."

"Mary, this is Danny. We have Owens in custody. He talked to his old partner about the conversation at the restaurant. The partner's name is Lenny Warfield and he lives about the bar he owns."

"What's the name of the bar?"

"Shields," Danny replied. "We're bringing Owens in with us."

"Stan and I will bring in Warfield. Someone has to talk. We're sending your Dad back to the Marshal's office to run background on Owens and Warfield."

"Good, he shouldn't be in the field. How bad was the room?"

Mary explained what they had seen at the hotel.

"Thanks, Mary. We'll see you at the office." Danny said, hanging up.

Neal took a look at his brother's face. "How bad?"

Danny looked in the rear view mirror to gauge the reaction of Owens while he relayed the information to his brother. The shocked look on Owen's face told him that he wasn't involved in it. They would get very little information out of him.

Neal wanted to hit something, but he noticed Owen's reaction and realized the man was innocent of the crime itself, but he had a feeling the trip down memory lane is what caused Marshall to be grabbed.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary relayed the information to Stan and Seth. Stan grabbed one of the Marshal's in the room and gave him the instruction to drive Seth back to the office and if he gave them too much trouble to put him in a holding cell.

"He's my son, Stan. I have every right to be there," Seth said angrily.

"The deal was you could come along and help investigate or I would lock you up in Albuquerque. You're going to be running the background checks on these two men. Mary and I will bring the Warfield in. You're still recovering from you surgery. You will be of no use to us if the man tries to run. Seth, I know you want to help Marshall and that can be accomplished by finding motive for either man to turn over the information or eliminate them from our search."

"Stan, if they…" Seth couldn't say the words.

"Marshall is _not_ dead and we're not going to let them kill him either. Right now Conti doesn't even know who he is. There's no reason to kill him and bring down the U.S. Marshal's Service on him. If he kills Marshall he knows he places a bull's eye on his operation," Mary reminded.

"Seth, call Haley and see if she knows if Victor Conti ever saw her. Marshall has her eyes and smile. If you compared the two side by side it would be obvious that she's his mother. Conti would have motive to kill him then," Stan said, and watched Seth walk to the car and make the call.

"You think it's a possibility," Mary said, looking at Stan. They wanted to give Seth a little privacy while talking to his wife.

"Hell, it was the first two things I noticed about Haley when I saw her and Marshall."

"What are we going to do about Seth? He's going to want to be there when we go after Marshall. He shouldn't even be here."

"No he shouldn't, but if the roles were reversed you and I would be doing the same thing. We won't take him when we go to find Marshall. If I have to I'll remind him that his appearance there would be a hindrance to getting his son back alive."

Mary knew it was a low blow in some ways, but they weren't going to gamble with Marshall's life and Seth would only be thinking about getting Marshall back. The only reason she knew that was because if she were honest with herself, she'd do the same thing. In some ways, they were very similar.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall regained consciousness again, but this time found himself alone in a different room. He could hear sounds of motors and the beeping to warn of something backing up.

It must be work time and the crews were in for their shifts. He was being kept hidden from the workers. That meant at least a few of them weren't crooked.

He tried twisting his hands to get out of the ropes that bound him to the chair, but they were firmly tied and all he was managing to do was tear off skin. At least it would leave some evidence. His eyes scanned the room for anything sharp that he could use to get out of his bonds. Seeing the blade on a paper cutter, he was about to try and move the chair towards it when he heard the sound of what he assumed was the lunch break since he could hear the movement of feet near the area he was in, followed by silence.

Marshall tried moving his jaw and lips around to get the gag out of his mouth. He could at least yell and hope that someone found him. Whoever tied it on had done a good job though and before he could contemplate his next move the door opened. He dropped his head down and kept his eyes closed not ready for another beating.

Listening for any kind of information he could gain he stayed as still as possible.

"Damn, the guy is still unconscious. The boss is going to kill us if he doesn't make it. He's obsessed with finding out who this guy is," the one man said.

"I know he locked himself in his study at home to try and figure out why he looked so familiar. I've never seen Victor this obsessed with anything since Peter was killed. Be glad you weren't around for that kid. Victor would've moved heaven and earth to find Carson. Turns out the fool came back to him working for the competition."

"Seriously, I wouldn't think anyone that Victor had trusted that much would do something so stupid."

"Carson was arrogant. He thought he could out smart the boss. It cost him his life. We need to move our friend here again. Victor doesn't want him staying in one place too long."


	8. Chapter 8

Victor was in his study going through all of the information he had on any federal agent. When that turned up empty he decided to dig further into the past. He'd been up all night trying to figure out why that agent looked familiar.

Looking at the picture of him and his son that he kept on his desk, he stood up and went into the basement. Entering a room he hadn't been in for a long time, he stood and looked at the walls. It was a history of the time Carson had met Peter through his son's funeral and Carson's dead body.

He studied each picture and every face on that wall, but came up empty. Moving towards the closet in the room, he unlocked it and pulled out the photos that he didn't have space to hang up. In every photo there was a story of friendship that turned into betrayal. Carson had been treated like a member of his family; he never did learn why he killed his son. The unanswered question still haunted him.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary and Stan arrived at The Shield tavern and entered. The bartender looked up. It was lunch time and he anticipated the arrival of the morning crew coming in for lunch. He was surprised at seeing the two unfamiliar people.

"Hey folks, help your selves to a table or grab a stool," Lenny said.

"Are you Lenny Warfield?" Mary asked.

"Do I know you from somewhere?"

"We need you to come with us to straighten some information out," Stan replied, showing him his badge, as his cell began to ring. Stan indicated for Mary to continue to handle the conversation.

"No, you definitely don't know us from anywhere, but a friend of yours was in here the other day talking about the past. We'd like more information from you on the case you worked with him on a Carson Fisher otherwise known as Carson Parks."

Lenny knew he was in trouble. All they had to do is a background on financials and they'd be suspicious. It might take a little bit of time to trace the money back to Conti. Once that happened he would be in a world of hurt.

"Let me just lock up the back, put out the close sign and grab my jacket. Then I'll be ready to go with you."

"Mary, why don't you take care of the locks while Lenny stays here with me," Stan said, putting his cell phone away.

The door to the bar opened and a couple of police officers Lenny knew walked in. He was hoping that this was going to be his opportunity to try and escape.

"Lenny, is there a problem?" the first one said.

Stan could see Lenny looking at his possible exits and spoke up before Lenny could try and cause trouble.

"U.S. Marshal's Service. Lenny here is going to take a ride with us to the local office and explain why he contacted Victor Conti last night. Then he's going to contact him again and get the whereabouts of my missing inspector."

"I can explain," Lenny started not sure how they found out about the phone call already.

"I'm sure you can and in the mean time we'll keep running your phone records and financials. Who knows how many charges we can come up with," Mary said heatedly, as she re-entered the room after locking the back door.

The cops looked between the two inspectors and Lenny. They could tell the Marshals meant business. Knowing who Conti was and hearing about the break in at the hotel they offered their help.

"We'll finish locking up for you. Good luck finding your inspector," the two officers responded.

"Thank you," Stan said, leading Lenny out to their car, before heading to the local Marshal's office.

Lenny was sitting in the back of the SUV observing the two Marshal's in front.

"How'd you trace the phone call so quickly?"

"It's called modern technology. It doesn't take as long and when you have a motivated group of people looking for one of their own it goes even faster," Mary replied.

"You must be the partner and you're the boss. Didn't think the bosses left the office."

"They do when they're trying to keep someone from killing you on accident," Mary said heatedly.

"What's so important about this one?" Lenny asked intrigued.

"Besides the fact that he's my partner idiot, his father and two brothers are Marshals. My boss doesn't know yet who you need more protection from, me or his family. One way or another we'll get you to talk. What happens after that remains to be seen."

Lenny stopped asking questions after that and began to realize the ramifications of his choice. No matter what happened he was pretty much screwed.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall had been laid into the trunk of a car. He was trying to memorize every sound, bump and noise that he could hear as they continued to his next destination. The one thing he was sure of was that Mary and Stan would be here. They'd tear the town apart looking for him.

He was thinking over the information that he had learned about his biological father. The statement the two men made at the warehouse had made sense. Only arrogance would allow you to come back to the town that you were removed from in order to keep you alive.

Shaking his head he tried to clear his thoughts. He needed to stay focused on where he was currently headed.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Seth had called in several favors to get the information they already had. Detective Owens was showing up as clean. His partner on the other hand had financial issues around the time of Connor's murder that seemed to disappear after the case was closed without anyone being arrested.

According to the police records, Victor had been the prime suspect. Evidence had gone missing and they had nothing to pin the murder on him with. The one thing Seth knew for sure was evidence didn't get up and walk off on its own. The only way it disappeared was with help.

Seth had made a phone call requesting information on the evidence room, who was in charge of it when the items disappeared and anyone who had access to it. He had a feeling by the time they had enough information to find Marshall, Carson's case would also be solved.

Seth may have no use for Carson, but he wanted his son back and safe. If they could tie Angelo and Victor to what was currently going on they would be spending the rest of their lives behind bars. Marshall and Haley would finally be safe.

While he was waiting for more information to come in, Seth reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Opening it up, he read the information stating that Marshall was his son. Marshall had tossed the paper away when he saw the results. Seth had dug it out of the trash and saved it in his briefcase.

While he knew it wasn't the truth, for all practical purposes he was Marshall's father. In his mind it validated the lie they had kept for thirty-eight years. It had made him so proud that the DNA had stated that Marshall was his. He knew the lie that existed behind it, but for some reason it felt right, just like the first time Marshall had called him Da da.

Lost in thought, he didn't hear his sons approach.

"What's that Dad?" Neal asked.

"The results of the saliva test."

"Which of ours did you use?" Danny asked, not remembering being swabbed.

Seth smiled at Danny. "Yours. Haley had taken Neal to the doctor and you were sleeping with your mouth wide open. It gave me the perfect opportunity. You wouldn't know that it happened and wouldn't have to lie to your brother."

"Why keep it? You knew that he isn't yours."

"Marshall has always been my son. I guess I liked their being proof even if it was a lie."

"I don't get this. You have always pushed Marshall away from you," Danny reminded.

"Marshall has always been an exceptionally bright child. I worried that he would somehow figure it out, especially after he took the saliva test. Plus, I was concerned that if I coddled him like your mother did that he'd never be able to defend himself. Your mother and I tried to over compensate for the lies we told. Mom wanted to heal all of the hurt I caused by trying to toughen him up. I wanted him to be able to protect himself in case someone tried to come after him. We did what we thought was best under the circumstances and if I could go back and change things, I would. Now all I can hope for is that in time Marshall forgives us and lets us back into his life."

"Marshall is the most understanding and forgiving person that I know. It won't happen overnight and more than likely there will be a lot of up and downs. In time he'll put the facts together and get his head wrapped around everything. When that happens, he'll give you another chance. Don't blow it, Dad. I doubt you will ever regain his trust if you do. He needs to know that you love him as if he was your own," Neal said, before getting up and walking away.

"What about you and Neal?" Seth asked Danny.

"We're not the ones you betrayed. Yes, you lied to the both of us about who Marshall and Mom are, but I get that you did it to protect them. However, both of us will respect Marshall's wishes. He's the one you hurt the most. Do I believe what you say? I do, but I'm not the one you have to convince. With the way you've treated Marshall in the past he'll question you. He has that right. I realize that you feared what could happen to him if he didn't toughen up, but you never accepted him for who he was. How is he not supposed to question if that is because of the way you are or who his biological father was? You and Mom need to own up for a huge chunk of responsibility for this mess."

"You and Neal think I was way too harsh on him. Your brother was always more sensitive and I often thought it was because your mother coddled him to much. She was insecure about how safe he would be in a world where her past could haunt him."

"Neal and I are guilty of treating him differently too. We just didn't go to the extreme you did. I'm not trying to be critical, but it was wrong to shield him behind a tough exterior. It's what has caused so much distance between the two of you. When this is over and we get Marshall back, you're going to have to sit down and tell him how you feel. If you don't I'm not sure that this wound will ever heal completely. As it is, Marshall is going to have enough self doubts. We fix him and then we take care of the three of you. Mom has a role in all of this also," Danny stood up and headed towards the door that Mary and Stan just entered with their suspect.

Seth stared at the back of his two youngest sons and wondered if he had punished Marshall for being Carson's son. He didn't think so. He honestly never considered Marshall to be any one but his and Haley's. Seth felt self doubt for the first time in years. What if he had punished Marshall unconsciously for not being his biological son?

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall was dragged into another warehouse and tied to a chair again. He couldn't help the grunt that slipped out as he was dumped and tied up. His ribs were jarred when they shoved him in the chair.

"Well look who has decided to join the land of the living."

"Our guest seems to be a little sore."

"Just wait until the boss gets done to you. You'll wish you were dead," the second man said as he finished tying him up.

Marshall assumed this was one of the drug or gun running warehouses. They wouldn't be doing business during the day. Testing his hands to see if he could get lose he fought them, but the more he did that the tighter they got.

Taking a look around the room he wanted to swear. Either this was a new warehouse or they didn't trust him not to escape and set him in a bare room. The comments about Victor thinking he looked familiar made him worry. He had no clue what Carson looked like, so he wasn't sure if he had some of his mannerisms or features. It might have been that or many people over the years had said he had his Mom's smile and eyes.

He wished there was a way for all of this to be undone. It would make things easier. Just once it would be nice if it something in his life was easy. While he continued to try and figure a way out he couldn't help, but wonder if growing up things would have been better if he had been Seth's son.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Lenny was sitting behind the table as he waited for whoever was going to interrogate him. After forty years in the service, he was now on the wrong side of the table. It wasn't the way his career was supposed to go. He was now in between a rock and a hard place.

The door opened before he could contemplate all of the facts he had to take in place before deciding what to do. He knew the one Marshal that walked in as Marshal Shannon had picked him up, but the other man had a hard look to him for someone so young. He wasn't sure which one worried him more at the moment.

"Lenny, this is U.S. Marshal Neal Mann. We're going to ask you some questions and it would be in your best interest to answer them with all details included. What exactly is your relationship with Vincent Conti?"

"There is no relationship," Lenny said.

"I do believe that would be strike one. Wouldn't you agree Neal?" Mary asked.

"That I would, Mary. Lenny, I think I should reiterate Mary's words from earlier. It would be in your best interest to tell us the truth. We already have a lot of information on your financial situation in the past and that it links you to Conti. The nice thing about technology is it links information together a lot quicker than when you were a cop."

"What's your obsession with Conti?" Lenny asked, there was more to this than just a Marshal missing.

"It's like this," Neal said, sitting on the end of the table. "The U.S. Marshal that Conti has is my brother. If we don't get him back and you don't cooperate then all of us here are going to testify to your lack of cooperation and make sure that it's well known that you're a cop when you get sent to prison. I want my brother back in one piece. If he doesn't come back that way, wellet's jusy say that things are going to get very ugly for those involved."

Lenny could tell by the man's expression that he meant every word that he said.

"What kind of deal are you willing to give me?"

"That would depend on what kind of information that you can give us and what happens to his brother. That is if we decide to cut you a deal. Remind you that you are an accessory to the kidnapping of a federal agent and if said agent doesn't come out of this alive we add accessory to murder to your time. If you cooperate then we can talk about getting you a lighter sentence."

"How much time do I get to think about this?" Lenny asked, he was screwed and he knew it.

"You have two minutes. The clock is ticking," Neal replied.

"I need more time than that. Do you know what Victor would do to me if he found out?"

"The longer my brother is with Victor the higher the odds are that you charges go up. I'm not risking his life because you pissed your career down the toilet. You sold out the oath you made to the city to protect it," Neal lashed out.

"I want protection in the prison and afterwards."

"That can be arranged. Now start telling us everything you know about what you told Victor and where we can find my partner."

"I made the call after Mark mentioned Carson's name. The deal with Victor was that I was never to call him unless something about Carson came up. It was all buried in the past after Carson was killed. Then the kid came with an acquaintance of my old partners and I'm assuming that Victor wants to know why. I told him what Mark said the kid told him, that someone mentioned a case that was similar to Carson's and his boss sent him here to find out if it was something to look into. Victor had me locate the kid's hotel and sent some men to go grab him so he could talk to the kid," Lenny said.

"Did you do anything else for Victor? Did he ask for anything else?"

"I received a call from Victor asking me to do a check on this kid. Something about him reminds Victor of someone he thinks he saw before. He's going through his old information trying to put the pieces together and wanted me to see if I could use one of my connections on the police force to find more information on him. I didn't get the chance to before you arrived."

Mary and Neal both looked at each other. The fact that Conti was thinking Marshall looked familiar could end up being a problem.

"Wait here, we'll be right back," Mary said.

Mary and Neal left the room and entered the observation room. Stan, Seth and Danny were all looking at them as the entered.

"We can use this to our advantage," Mary said.

"Use what? If Victor finds out who Marshall is he'll kill him," Seth snapped.

"We have Lenny call Conti and tell him that he believes he has the information that Victor wants, but he needs to see Marshall to verify the information. If Conti bites, we can follow Lenny to where they're holding Marshall."

"It's probably the quickest way to find Marshall, Dad. Lenny doesn't know anything about Conti's operation. He was used to dispose of the evidence to Carson's murder for money to get himself on his feet again," Neal added.

"Seth, we're all worried about Marshall, but they're right. This might be the only chance we have at getting to Marshall before Conti kills him," Stan reminded. "Mary, have him make the call. We'll give him the protection he needs in prison and when he's released."

Mary nodded and headed back into the room.

"Alright, this is how we're going to do things." Mary said, informing Lenny of the plan before handing him his cell phone. "Put it on speaker phone."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Victor continued to dig through the various information he had on Connor. So far nothing was clicking as to why he felt he should know the Marshal that he had in his custody. The feeling was strong, but he couldn't find anything that connected him to anyone he knew.

He looked over all the photos of Connor and Peter, but nothing made him think of the man he'd been questioning. He was wondering if he was becoming obsessed about a past that he couldn't change and a son he couldn't bring back.

Victor sighed and sat down when his cell phone began to ring.

"Did you find out something?" Victor asked after looking at the caller id.

"I might have a lead, but I need to see the guy that you're talking about to confirm that the information is correct."

Victor didn't like the idea, but if he could put the feeling to rest then he could concentrate on his business.

"You will wait at my predetermined location where Angelo will pick you up. You are to leave your cell phone in your car and will be searched and blindfolded. If I have even the slightest hint that you're betraying me this will be the last ride you make. Are we clear?"

"Very clear," Lenny replied, as Mary wrote the address of the pick up location.

"Don't be late," Victor said, before hanging up.

Lenny looked at Mary. "How the hell are you supposed to follow me if I can't be tracked?"

"We have our ways," Mary replied, walking out of the room and back towards the observation room.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall hated the empty room because it gave him too much time to think and nothing to get himself free with. He could feel the blood dripping down his wrists from his efforts to loosen the ropes. The closest he got to getting out was landing on the floor sideways so he now had a lower view of the room. These men really knew how to tie someone up and it was pissing him off.

Marshall wanted to believe that was the only thing that had him angry, but he was starting to understand why his Mom and Seth hadn't told him about the past. Not that it meant he was ready to forgive and forget, because he wasn't. If he could get his subconscious to stop nagging him about Seth being his father he'd feel better.

There were so many questions he needed to ask Seth before he could figure out what exactly their relationship was. A part of him wondered if he was the extra baggage that came with loving his mother or if he really did care about him. The doubt he had about him and Seth returned full force. Was he just someone that was to be tolerated or was it more? He was so damn confused right now it wasn't funny.

The part that almost made him want to laugh was all the years he watched Mary trying to prove to the world that she wasn't her father. She could make something of herself and not be the criminal that walked away from her family. He wished that she would let him help her come to terms with it and now he found himself in a similar position. Who would've ever thought it would be the one thing they had in common?

Marshall wondered if Stan and the others now viewed him differently. Was he the son of a murderer or a U.S. Marshal? He didn't judge Mary by that, but she wasn't led to believe that she was a fifth generation U.S. Marshal. Stan knew what he was getting when Mary started. Her past wasn't a secret and never would be. His past was nothing, but a lie. Would Stan still see him for who he was?

The questions continued to flow through his mind until he heard the sound of the door knob being turned.

"That's an interesting position you seem to have found your self in," the man said. "Lucky for you, it's time to move you out to the warehouse. Boss is coming to decide your fate. I'd start praying if I were you."

"Shut up and let's get him set up for his judgment," the other man said.

Marshall noticed both men were wearing masks again. He had to give Conti credit. The man made sure that no one could be identified.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Stan had sent Mary and Danny out to pick up rental cars. He didn't want them following Angelo and Lenny in any car that screamed police or federal agent. Mary returned with the Honda Civic that she and Stan were now in and Neal and Danny were following with a Toyota Camry.

It had taken some serious convincing, but Seth had finally agreed to stay back. Stan advised him that he would let him know when they had Marshall.

They were parked on a side street with a view of Lenny waiting to be picked up. Danny and Neal were parked a few blocks over. They were going to alternate following in order to prevent being detected.

"We can't lose them, Stan."

"Mary, I have no intention of losing them. We're going to find Marshall and bring him home."

"Do you know how confused he must be right now? Finding out Seth isn't his father, his whole life was based on a lie and his biological father was a killer. He's gone from the proud heritage of being a fifth generation Marshal to being the son of a criminal and a child of the WITSEC program."

"We're going to help him through this. He's going to need to work things out in his head before he can even start dealing with his parents. Marshall will need us to be there for him, but he's going to need you more than anyone else. You're also the one person who can relate to him. Mary, this is your time to be the rock for Marshall to lean instead of the other way around."

"I'm worried about him, Stan. I have no problem being his rock, but what if it's not enough?"

"Marshall is strong. You learned that after the gas station. He's lost, but we both know he'll work through it. I'm expecting him to go through a lot of emotions while dealing with this and at some point confronting his parents. He's one of the most important people in your life and you always have his back. You won't fail him. The two of you need each other, always have and always will."

Mary nodded and was about to say something when she saw a car pull up in front of Lenny.

"They're here."

Mary watched as Lenny was patted down and led to the car. They waited for the car to get a safe distance away before pulling out and following him.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Seth had stayed at the office until Lenny was picked up. Borrowing a car and radio he made his way towards the directions that Stan, Mary and his boys were relaying so they could trade of positions.

There was no way that he would sit by and wait for a call telling him something happened to his eldest child. No, Marshall needed his father and it was long past time for him to step back into those shoes.

Listening intently he heard them mention the address of the warehouse Marshall was at. He stopped the car and listened to their plans to make sure he knew when it was safe to enter. As much as he wanted to rush in he knew that it would be a mistake. Impatient as he was to get Marshall, he also didn't want to do something stupid that would get him killed.

Waiting for the right moment he headed towards the warehouse. Slipping around the back he found the entrance that Mary and Stan were supposed to enter by. Quietly opening the door he began to move forward. He knew it would be a matter of minutes before everyone was in position.

The silence of the warehouse was broken by the sound of voices.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Victor stood in the darkened space they were using to interrogate the Marshal from. Four of his men surrounded the Marshal waiting for the signal from Victor to persuade the Marshal to talk.

The questioning stopped the second Victor whistled, signaling their arrival. It was time to see what information Lenny could provide. If it wasn't useful he still had his man Pauley going through the files that were in his house to see what they came up with. Pauley had been with the organization since he started. He would know what to look for.

Victor moved over towards Lenny. "So what information do you have in regards to this man?"

Lenny looked at the Marshal tied in the chair, but couldn't see his face. Victor's men must have worked him over good.

"I need to see his face and if it matches the picture I was shown by some Marshal's that came into my bar asking if I had seen the young man."

Victor signaled to the guards and one grabbed Marshall by the hair and yanked his face back.

"Is this the man and what did they want?"

"Yes, it's him. They were looking for him. Said his boss sent him out here to investigate a crime that happened in Montana. They hadn't heard from him in days and were concerned. He's from a long line of Marshal's and the family is here looking for him."

"Where is the boy from?"

"Indiana from what I was able to gather. I could be wrong. They never said, but I overheard Indiana."

"Out time is short then. Thank you for the information. Our previous arrangement still stands. Angelo, take him home."

Angelo was about to leave with Lenny when Pauley arrived.

"I think I have your answer boss," the man said holding out a photo to Victor.


	9. Chapter 9

Mary almost gasped when she saw Marshall's face. His one eye was swollen shut, his lip was swollen and there was blood near the side of his mouth. She wanted to run out and go get him now, but Stan had grabbed her arm when her instinct to protect Marshall kicked in.

They listened as Lenny provided the cover story they'd given him and sighed in relief as Angelo started to leave the warehouse with Lenny. It was the entrance of the other man that had her worried. He looked like he'd won the jackpot and that didn't bode well.

Victor looked at what was handed to him and it was if he transformed into an even greater evil than he'd been before. The look on his face was one of pure hatred. The words spoken sent a chill down her spine.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Victor couldn't believe it. Haley Fisher has a son. That meant he was Carson's son and that past and present had just collided. All he could think about now was a son for a son. It didn't matter that Carson was already dead. There would be no legacy for Carson to leave behind.

"Well, the Marshal here is no other than Haley Fisher's son. That would make your father Carson. He killed my son in cold blood and now I can complete the circle by taking your life. I knew I'd seen that look, but couldn't remember where. Carson kept Haley in the dark, but I'd seen her once before. You have her eyes and smile. I have the proof right here," Victor said stepping into the light and moving towards Marshall with a gun pointed at him.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Seth heard Victor's announcement and knew that he would have to act quickly. Touching the pocket of his shirt, he was grateful that he brought it with him.

"U.S. Marshal. Victor Conti if I were you I'd step away from my son before I kill you," Seth warned venomously.

Victor turned at the announcement and Seth knew he had caught him off guard.

"Who are you?" Victor demanded.

"U.S. Marshal Seth Mann, the father of the person that you're currently pointing a gun at. His name is Marshall Mann. He's mine and Haley's son."

"You lie! He's Haley and Carson's son."

"Carson never had a son. Him and Haley spent the last year of their marriage in seperate rooms. I have DNA proof from an accredited lab by the American Association of Blood Banks showing that he's mine," Seth said, reaching in his pocket to lift the document.

"You're going to get once chance to let go of my son before all hell reigns down on you. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Stan had to bite back the curse wanting to escape his lips as Seth moved out into the open. While he was talking to Victor the rest of them began to move into place. It was time to end this and bring Marshall home.

Stan signaled to Mary who relayed it through several of the other Marshals that they'd brought with. In return they passed it on to Neal and Danny and the men they had with them.

"U.S. Marshal's, nobody move," Stan called out as the rest of them came out of their locations.

The marshals filled the room surrounding the Conti's and their people. They were completely outnumbered and Stan was hoping for an easy take down. He should know that nothing is ever as simple as it looks when Mary or Marshall were involved.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary wanted to curse as things hit the fan. Marshall was stuck in the middle of the room. Angelo pulled his gun and went to shoot her partner. Seth and Mary both ran toward the chair to get him out of the line of fire.

Gunfire erupted throughout the warehouse. Mary was doing her best to keep Marshall covered while providing cover fire. She noticed Angelo go down and most of Victor's men had been shot or incapacitated shortly after. The only person she didn't see was Victor, as she scanned the room before moving to free Marshall.

She quickly untied Marshall, but he hadn't said a thing and that scared her.

"Marshall, come on buddy. You need to help me out just a little here. Please, I need you to move, so we can get you to a safer location and get checked out."

"Mare?"

"It's me. Don't talk, Marshall. You're going to need to save that voice for later when Stan, Seth, Danny, Neal and I decide to lecture you on taking this trip alone. In the meantime, let's see if you can walk."

"I'm motivated enough to run if asked," Marshall replied.

The two had turned and headed for the back door where Mary and Stan had entered from.

It was the click of the gun that caught her attention followed by the sound of Seth's voice that caused her to snap her head around. Victor was pointing his gun at Marshall and Seth had his trained on Victor.

"You're not killing my son, Victor. I won't let you hurt any more innocent people. Your son's killer is dead. You got your justice, but it didn't bring you the comfort you thought it would. I have no problem pulling this trigger to save my son," Seth warned as he noticed Mary's eyes look at the two of them.

"A son for a son."

"Carson doesn't have a son you idiot. How many times does he have to explain that to you?" Mary asked, pointing at Seth to emphasize the he.

"He's old enough to be Carson's son," Victor said.

"Yeah, but he's not."

"It doesn't matter anymore. You killed my grandson and Carson killed my son. Carson or your son must die," Victor's finger pulled the trigger as Mary and Seth both shot.

Mary didn't get a chance to see what happened as she felt herself pushed to the ground.

Marshall saw Mary step into the path of the bullet and responded by shoving her to the ground trying desperately to make sure she didn't get shot again. He couldn't go through it another time. As his body fell shielding Mary's, he felt a searing pain go through his shoulder before colliding with the ground and everything going black.

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"Mary, Marshall," Stan called out.

Mary pushed herself up off the floor and saw Marshall lying face down on the concrete.

"Marshall," Mary said, hoping to hear a reply. When she didn't receive one she quickly moved to his side and with Stan's help turned him over.

"Get an ambulance," Stan called out over his shoulder, before pulling his jacket off and placing pressure on the wound.

"Marshall, come on partner open your eyes. Marshall, open your damn eyes," Mary said feeling the panic and fear seize her heart.

"Seth, are you alright?" Stan asked, not seeing the man anywhere.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Seth had been staring at Victor's dead body and nothing else. It was like past and present had collided and for the first time since he and Haley married they didn't have to look over their shoulders and always be afraid that Marshall would be in danger.

It was the last thought that finally snapped him back to reality. Danny and Neal were looking at him worried, but before they could say anything Stan yelled for the ambulance and then called out to Seth.

"Marshall," Seth called noticing Stan applying pressure on his shoulder.

"Danny or Neal, can you go check on the ambulance?" Stan asked, never releasing the pressure or looking at the two men.

"On it," Danny replied, rushing out of the warehouse.

"How bad?" Seth asked.

"He took a bullet to the shoulder, but after that he's going to need x-rays to see what kind of a job those goons did on him," Mary replied.

"Ow," Marshall moaned out.

"Seriously, that is the first thing you say to us now that you decided to rejoin us?" Mary asked

"What happened?" Marshall said deciding to ignore Mary's remark.

"You were shot, Doofus," Mary replied, trying to shake the memory of the last time she said those words to him. "What is with you and abandoned buildings?"

"How do you feel, Marshall?" Stan asked, before Mary and Marshall started in on one of their arguments.

"Hurts."

"What hurts, So…, Marshall?" Seth hesitated, not sure how Marshall would reply to being called son.

"Dad?"

"I'm right here, Marshall. Just try and relax and keep your eyes open for us. The ambulance is here."

"I want to go home," Marshall replied.

"After the doctor checks you over and let us know if it's okay then we'll get you home. We need to know that you're alright to fly."

Marshall was about to say something when Mary covered his mouth.

"No talking, just stay awake."

"Bossy," Marshall whispered.

"Damn straight, now stop talking," Mary said, before moving away from Marshall to let the paramedics in.

Marshall's dad and brothers stood back with Stan and Mary watching as the paramedics worked on him. As they finally had him ready to move, Mary looked to Stan.

"Go ahead. We've got things covered here. We'll meet you at the hospital. Seth, you go with and get checked over. I want to make sure you didn't hurt yourself again," Stan said, knowing the two of them needed to be with Marshall.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Seth walked into the waiting room to see Mary pacing the length of the floor.

"I take it there's no word on Marshall?"

"Of course not. Heaven forbid they come and tell you something so that you don't have to play all of the worse case scenarios in your head. What the hell was he thinking? If I hadn't been talking to him on the phone, we never would've known something was wrong."

"Haley and I threw him for one hell of a loop. It caught him off guard and he did what he felt he had to with all of us trying to convince him to wait and let Haley and I explain. He was hurting and people react strangely to being hurt. I know you're angry, but you can't take it out on him. He needs a friend and someone he feels he can trust. Right now there are only two people who qualify. You and Stan are the only people he will talk to. He might not even open up to the two of you until he can grasp what he's learned."

"What was that piece of paper you had that said it was the proof that Marshall was yours?"

Seth pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket and showed it to Mary.

Mary grabbed it and opened it. She realized it was the test results that Seth had tampered with.

"You kept it?"

"I know you think I'm a hard ass where Marshall is concerned. It's how I treated him growing up. My plan was to toughen him up to survive in case Conti found us somehow. I was there for his first ultrasound, went with Haley to all of her Lamaze classes, cut the umbilical cord, held him first, fed him his first bottle and changed his first diaper. He's _my _son in every way that counts. I kept the paper because it was an official document that showed he was my son. I know it wasn't the truth, but it felt good to see it on something other than his birth certificate. We put it on that document; this was an official place putting it on paper. It made me feel so damn proud that I couldn't part with it."

"You're going to need to explain all of this to Marshall when he's ready to talk to you," Mary reminded.

"He called me Dad in the warehouse. I know it was a slip because he was hurting, but it felt good to hear that word again."

"Marshall, will be calling you that again. It will take time and a whole lot of talking. You'll get there again. The one thing I will warn you, is if you ever hurt him again like you and Haley have recently; then you will be answer to me. I don't like seeing him in pain. I don't care if it's physical, mental or emotional. Do you understand me?"

Seth could tell Mary was serious.

"I have no intention of ever doing anything like this to him again."

"Good, because I would hate to have to hurt you," Mary replied, as the door opened and Stan, Neal and Danny entered.

"Any word yet?" Danny asked.

Mary shook her head no.

"I know Marshall wants to go home and depending what the doctor says I've arranged for the leer jet to be ready to take us back," Stan said.

The door opened up and the doctor came in.

"Family of Marshall Mann?"

"Yes, we are," Mary replied.

"We removed the bullet from his shoulder. Mr. Mann was lucky, the wound wasn't very deep. We've cleaned it out and patched it up. The beating he took left him with several bruised ribs and a couple fractured ribs. The fractured ribs should heal in six weeks. He's obviously been beaten and the bruises and swelling will also go down with time. We have him putting ice on his eye for twenty minutes every hour on the hour for twenty-four hours to help decrease the swelling."

"How soon before he can leave the hospital?" Neal asked.

"I would like to keep him overnight for observation," the doctor replied.

"Can we see him?" Mary asked.

"I'll have the nurse come get you when he's settled."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

The nurse finally came to get them and they all headed into the room. Marshall was sound asleep. The nurse went and got them a couple of extra chairs.

Mary reached over and grabbed Marshall's hand. She wanted some connection to him right now. Knowing they could've lost him so easily today had her in full protection mode.

After several hours and a whole lot of yawning going on in the room, Stan finally decide it was time to make this gathering a lot smaller.

"Danny and Neal, why don't you take Seth and get a hotel room for the night? Seth, don't even think about arguing with me. You're still recovering from your injuries. You two make sure that your father stays put. Mary and I will stay with Marshall. Come back in the morning and we'll get Marshall discharged and head home."

Seth wanted to argue, but he was sore and wasn't sure if Marshall would still want him around when he woke up. Reluctantly, he stood up and followed Danny and Neal out of the room. He stopped at the door and turned around.

"We'll call you if anything changes," Mary said.

"Take care of him for me."

"Always," Mary said, pushing a loose strand of hair off Marshall's forehead.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Seth waited for Neal and Danny to fall asleep. Once they did he pulled out his cell phone and called Haley.

"Seth, how's Marshall?"

Seth relayed the information that the doctor said and then let her know about Victor and Angelo.

"Is it finally over?" Haley asked.

"Victor and Angelo are the only Conti's left. They're the only ones who had a reason for wanting revenge against Carson. I doubt whoever takes over will want to pursue Victor's revenge. They think Marshall's my son anyways. I made sure to tell Victor he was."

"Where do we go from here?"

"That depends on Marshall. I have every intention of staying in Albuquerque and talking to him before we head home. This time we're going to have to do this on Marshall's terms. When he's ready to talk to us he will, and if he needs more time and space from us then we're going to have to give it to him. This is going to be hard, Haley. We betrayed his trust and that isn't something that is easily gained back."

"Promise me that at some point things will be okay again."

"I wish I could, but we need to make it so everything is better than okay."

"You're right. I'm not used to him not talking to me. It hurts, Seth."

"We hurt him deeply and that takes time to heal. Marshall hasn't even been able to absorb all of the facts."

"Time heals all wounds," Haley whispered.

"I hope so, Haley. For our sakes, I really hope so."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall woke to see Stan and Mary sleeping in the chairs next to his bed. He needed to know what happened. Everything was kind of fuzzy right now. Feeling a hand in his and seeing that Stan had his arms crossed over his chest, Marshall squeezed her fingers.

Mary was dreaming, but something was calling her attention. It was as she continued to argue with herself about opening her eyes she felt her hand squeezed. Opening her eyes she woke up to see one blue eye staring at her. The other was still swollen shut.

"Hey partner. Welcome back to the land of the living."

"Mare, what happened? I thought my…"

"Dad was here," Mary said finishing his thought. "He is, but he's still recovering from his injuries and Dad number two decided to send Seth to a hotel with your brothers to keep an eye on him," Mary replied, pointing at Stan.

"He's not though, Mare."

"Marshall, Seth may not have contributed his gene pool to you, but he's been a father to you from the time your mother told him about you. He could've walked away from her and left the two of you, but he didn't. The one thing I do know is that as far as he's concerned you are his son. Always have been and will always be. Just because you don't share the same bloodline doesn't mean he's not your father."

Marshall looked away from her and started to fidget with the sheet.

"Talk to me, Marshall. I know you're confused. You have every right to be, but there's a whole long complicated story to your life and your parents did what they thought was right. Doesn't make it okay, but it does prove they were willing to go out of their way to protect you."

"You know their side of the story."

Mary saw the hurt in his eyes.

"Marshall, they planned a meeting with the WITSEC inspector that had your Mom's case from the beginning. You had already taken off on your 'vacation' and Stan and I made them tell us what was going on since we were worried about the impact it would have on you. They were expecting you to be there. We covered for you, but wanted answers. The secrecy was making us worried."

"Are you mad?"

"It's kind of hard to be mad when you look so pathetic in the hospital bed. I get why you needed to know. I just wish you would've taken armed back up and not Samuel. I should've been here with you and not Samuel."

"Had I known what I was getting into I would've brought you along. Won't happen again," Marshall replied, yawning.

"I'm holding you to that. Now get some sleep. We have a plane to catch tomorrow."

Marshall nodded the best he could before letting sleep claim him. Mary watched him until the nurse came in with an ice pack for his eye.

"I'll take care of that," Mary said, taking the ice pack from the nurse.

"You did a good job of talking to him," Stan whispered.

Mary smiled. She heard the pride in Stan's voice.

"We have a long ways to go."

"Yes, we do. Marshall is going to be just fine."

"We'll make sure of that," Mary said, making sure the towel was over the pack before applying it to Marshall's eye.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall had been back for a week now and still hadn't talked to his parents. He was actually starting to accept the fact that Seth would always be considered his Dad. His brother asked him what it meant to be a father and Marshall had done some serious thinking about it. Every thing he qualified as a factor in being a good Dad, Seth had passed. He wasn't perfect, but then again who was.

It was the hurt an anger he was struggling with the most. He still felt a little lost, but with Mary's help he'd been able to start planting his feet firmly on the ground again. He had questions and knew the only way that he would get his answers was to talk to his parents.

He'd been talking to Mary every night and sometimes sitting down with Stan to run by his thoughts and theories. He had been grateful for both their input and ideas on how to see things more clearly. It had helped and now he found himself waiting for his parents to arrive.

Knowing that at some point in this conversation that he and his Dad were going to need to talk about the issues they had over the years made him the most nervous. A part of him was scared that his greatest fears would be realized after this conversation. Mary had even volunteered to come over and act as a buffer, but he opted to do this on his own. That meant Mary would be stopping by later tonight to make sure he was okay. She was still in overprotective mode and probably would be for awhile.

His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.


	10. Chapter 10

Seth looked at Haley and couldn't decide which of them was the most nervous. They had been waiting what felt like forever for Marshall to call them to talk about the past. When he finally did they were both elated and scared. He never thought he'd live to see the day when Marshall would scare him, but there was so much riding on this conversation that it frightened him. The wrong thing said or done could be what ruined any chance they had of working things out.

Haley gasped when she saw Marshall, as he opened the door. She knew that Seth had told her he was beaten up pretty good, but she hadn't been prepared for there to still be bruises after a week.

"It looks worse then it is, Mom," Marshall said, stepping aside to let them in.

Haley didn't think, she wrapped her arms around Marshall and pulled him into a hug. She realized how tense he was at first, but it felt like after a few minutes he hugged her back. She wouldn't know the answer to that, but she would always believe he'd realized at that moment he still needed them.

"Marshall," Seth greeted, unsure what his role was in his son's life.

"Why don't we sit down in the living room? I have a feeling this is going to be a long conversation."

Seth noticed Marshall had purposefully taken the chair across from them and the coffee table in between them.

"Which one of you wants to start explaining why you lied to me all these years?" Marshall asked, not meaning to sound so bitter, but unable to hide the resentment.

"I guess I should start, because the story begins before I ever met Seth," Haley said, unsure of what to call her husband in front of Marshall.

Haley found herself reciting the story she'd already told Mary and Stan. She could tell why Mary and Marshall made a good team. Marshall's questions were similar to the ones Mary asked.

"Uncle Cal was your WITSEC inspector?" Marshall asked.

"That's why he stopped coming around after awhile. Once I signed out of the program, he had other people to protect."

Marshall looked to Seth.

"Was I just extra baggage that had to be taken in, because you fell in love with Mom before finding out she was pregnant?"

"No, you were the added bonus. I watched the way you grew with each ultrasound and was excited about becoming a father."

"Then when Mom was pregnant with Neal everything changed. You stopped accepting me for who I was."

Seth had never made the connection to the timing until Marshall said that.

"It's not what you're thinking. Honestly, I never realized the timing of the two incidents coincided. When your Mom was pregnant with Neal, we learned that someone was digging into information on Haley and Connor Parks. Victor would have killed you if he'd found you. That was the day I decided that you needed to be toughened up in case someone came after you. It had nothing to do with your brother. You were always the sensitive one and I didn't even want to imagine what that sick monster could do to you or if you could survive if you didn't learn to be tougher. It was a mistake on my part. I wish I could turn back time and fix the many ways that I cheated you of a normal father and son relationship. You have to know that it wasn't because you didn't carry my blood. It was because I thought it would protect you from the cruelties of the Conti family if they came looking for you. I never thought about how differently I treated you from Neal and Danny. My only thought was to figure out how to keep you safe."

Marshall looked towards his Mom.

"Is that why you kept me so close to you all the time?"

Haley nodded.

"These men butchered your biological father. Letting you out of my sight was the hardest thing I had to do everyday that you went to school or out with friends. I'd already been looking over my shoulders for so long wondering when they'd find us that I wanted to shield you from the world. Seth and I went to the opposite extremes in trying to protect you. We had originally planned to tell you when you were eighteen, but by that time we were a family and thought that it would tear us apart. It wasn't meant to be deceitful or hurtful. We tried to protect you the only way we knew how."

Marshall took a deep breath and looked back to Seth. He was going to have to ask the question he was most scared of.

"Do you love me?"

Seth felt like he'd been stabbed in the heart. The fact that Marshall questioned it hurt him.

"From the moment I saw you in the ultrasound, I loved you. Your first word was Da Da. I'd never been as honored or proud as I was to hear you say those words. I let my pride and fear get in the way of me showing you how much I cared. Your brothers seemed to know it and I just assumed you would also."

"Marshall, Seth took you everywhere with him to show off his son to the people he knew after you were born. If they weren't too busy chasing down criminals he'd make an excuse for me to bring you to the office so we could go out for lunch. You were his pride and joy. The first time you were sick he took off of work, wanting to make sure that you had everything that you needed and would be okay. He stayed up all night with you when you were miserable with the chicken pox."

"I have always been proud of you, Marshall. As you got older and we found out that Vincent was looking into the past, I put more space between us because I couldn't stand the thought of losing you. In the end it wasn't the Conti's that stole you away from me. It was my own doing and for that I'm truly sorry. I never wanted you to doubt that I love you or that I wouldn't want you as my son."

"Dad, I want to believe all of this. I really do, but after everything we've been through I need time. I know that you care about me in your own way, but we need to work on things a lot more before I can accept what you're saying you feel about me is the truth."

Seth knew it was a first step and he would take what he could.

"Fair enough."

"Mom, I want to know my family history. Your side and Carson's. I don't even know what he looks like. I realize that we will never have contact with any of them if they're alive and you weren't allowed to take photos with you, but I still need to know."

"Carson and I were both only children. Your grandparents on both sides are dead. My parents passed when you were five in a car accident and Carson's parents were killed when a tornado ripped through the town they went to for vacation. They didn't have enough time to move to the shelter. I think you were six then. I had to leave all of the photos of Carson behind or I would show you what he looked like. You still aren't allowed to look up information either. Cal said they figure we're safe, but they can't take chances. I'm sorry, Marshall."

Marshall knew all to well those rules so he couldn't argue with her. He knew that he couldn't going searching either. His Mom was right, you never know with the people Carson hung around with. He could've double crossed someone else.

"I know that you have more questions. We'll be more the willing to answer any questions that you have. If you want we can take it from the beginning and work our way through it more. We held out on you and that wasn't fair."

"I think I have enough to think about for now," Marshall said, needing to think over the information he was just given.

"Alright, if you have any questions then we are more than willing to answer them," Seth replied.

"How long are you going to be in Albuquerque?"

"As long as you need us to be," Haley said

"Can we meet again tomorrow? I think that I need to do this in small pieces at a time."

"We can get together any time you want. Just let us know when you want to see us," Seth said.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall sat in the dark replaying the conversation with his parents. The logical part of him realized his parents did what they needed to in order to protect him. The other side of him still didn't understand why they didn't tell him the truth when he was older. He had a feeling that he never would fully grasp that.

The only thing he knew for sure was he wanted off this emotional roller coaster ride he was on. He was having a hard time separating being the son of a criminal and that of a U.S. Marshal. He'd idolized Seth when he was little until things started to go down hill when he was four. No matter how hard he tried, it was as if he didn't exist. He wanted to believe that it was what his Dad thought was best at the time, but he couldn't see how isolating your 'son' and pushing to toughen you up was love. Wasn't it there jobs to protect you from harm, but love you at the same time?

Marshall's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a key turning in his front door. Hitting on the light closest to him, he eased himself off the couch to help her with whatever Mary brought for supper.

Mary looked up and saw Marshall standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing up? The doctor said for you to rest. You still have five more weeks before those ribs heal correctly."

Marshall rolled his eyes. "You're becoming a mother hen."

"I'd punch you, but you have enough bruises. Go sit on the couch. I'll get some plates for supper. If you behave, I'll even let you have some of the pie I brought."

"Yes, dear," Marshall deadpanned before sitting back on the couch.

Mary ignored the remark and watched as Marshall held his side when he sat down. She knew that he was sitting in the dark before she arrived. She could tell when the light came on as she was opening the door.

So far he hadn't commented on her overnight bag. She figured after talking with his parents he could use some company. Grabbing their plates she headed for the living room.

"I could help you with the rest, you know. I'm more than capable of moving."

"That's nice, I'll be right back," Mary said, returning to the kitchen for their drinks. Making her way to Marshall she sat down next to him.

Mary wanted to ask right away about how things went, but she wanted him to enjoy his food first. They could talk next and then she'd bring him some pie. Pie made everything better.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall finished his supper and decided to finally confront Mary. She'd been casting side glances at him since they started eating.

"You can ask whatever it is that you want to, Mare."

"How'd it go?"

"I still don't know what to think. Mom told me about Carson. Dad tried to explain why he treated me the way he did while I was growing up. The only thing I want is to turn back time and unlearn the truth."

"Look, I can't even imagine what it's like finding out everything they kept hidden from you."

"There's a but coming in here."

"Yeah, there is. I sat with Seth when he talked about you and it was sincere. The man loves you, but he sucks at showing it. I honestly believe that he thought toughening you up would prepare you if the Conti's came after you. I have the feeling that he was hoping that it would keep you alive long enough for him to find you. That man may be tough as nails, but I heard the feeling behind his descriptions of you. That's what I call pride. You made something of yourself despite who your biological father was and it was because of the way your parents raised you. They helped mold you into the man that you are today and I will be eternally grateful to them for that. Don't try and rush through all of this. You're allowed to be angry, hurt and confused. The only thing that I can say is just remember all of the things they did for you while you were growing up. Don't shut them out. Give them time to explain and yourself time to work through the emotions and facts. I know that's hypocritical, but I know you and you love your family. Don't let this take that away from you."

"How do you deal with people knowing that your father was a criminal? I get judged by who Seth is and I can't help but wonder if anyone will look at me the same after this. I'll always be the murderer's son. I'm not a fifth generation U.S. Marshal."

"First of Marshall, the only people who are aware of your biological father are the people that care about you most in this world. No one else is going to know. It isn't safe in the first place to leak that information and none of us would do that to you. You are the same Marshall that I've been partnered with the last seven years, the same inspector Stan's been grooming for his position for a long time and the same son that was raised by two parents that adored him. Your own brothers told your parents that they were on your side through all of this. It doesn't define you, Marshall. The only way it can is if you let it."

Marshall nodded trying to let her words sink in. He was suddenly very tired.

Mary could tell Marshall was worn out. Emotionally all of this was taking a toll on him.

"Come on, it's time for us to go to bed."

Marshall raised an eyebrow at her.

"Someone has to keep an eye on you and since Stan won't let me take you to a vet to put a chip in you, you're just going t have to share your bed," Mary said, getting up and offering Marshall her hand.

When he accepted the help off the sofa, it told her just how tired he was. He would usually ignore her hand. She knew it was because that's what she did to him.

Marshall followed Mary down the hallway. They took turns changing in the bathroom before Mary slid in next to him. He was surprised when she reached out and took his hand in hers.

"I don't even know what he looks like, Mare. We can't look it up as a precautionary measure. Mom doesn't have any photos and there is no other family left."

"I'm sorry, Marshall. Nothing I say can make that better. I wish I could. Let it go for tonight and get the rest your body needs. I'll be by your side," Mary whispered, before impulsively giving Marshall a kiss on his cheek.

Marshall couldn't help, but smirk at the gesture. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Mary watched him sleep for over an hour before finally giving up trying to understand what it must be like to learn the truth the way Marshall had and to not be able to even to see what his biological father looked like. She at least has an old photograph of her father.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

A month had passed and Marshall was starting to feel like himself again. His parents had gone home two weeks ago, but would be coming back out Friday. Marshall had been on desk duty for a week much to Stan and Mary's dismay.

The two had known that he was getting antsy and that he needed a break from all of the information that he had been given by his parents. It hadn't taken him that long to realize that Seth would always be his father, but he was also not inclined to voice that fact just yet.

Marshall knew what Connor had done to his mother even if she refused to call it what it really was. It had taken him awhile to grasp everything his Mom had gone through. Carson had been her high school sweetheart and she'd seen him as the person he was until he met, Peter Conti. His life could have been completely different and when that thought finally registered, he realized that he'd been lucky. If things had turned out different he might have never met Stan or Mary. He would've never known the pride of a family filled with U.S. Marshal's in it and probably wouldn't be one at all.

His parents were coming because he asked them to. He needed to talk to each of them separately. By putting the pieces together in his head, he realized there were things he needed to know before he could continue to move forward.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary looked over at Marshall to see him staring blankly at his computer screen. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who noticed. Stan had come out of the office with a concerned look on his face and headed towards Marshall's desk.

"Marshall, are you okay?" Stan asked.

Marshall was pulled from his thoughts by Stan's voice.

"What?"

Mary rolled her chair over to Marshall's desk as Stan perched on the corner of it.

"You're staring blankly at your screen on the same day that your parents are arriving. We're worried about you," Mary said.

"Sorry, just thinking about what I have to talk to them about. I didn't mean to stop working."

"Marshall, you know full well that I'm not concerned about your job performance. What's really bothering you?" Stan asked.

"Did you and your parents have an argument?" Mary asked.

"No, but I'm just worried about how they're going to respond to my questions. I was so focused on how it all affected me that I never asked them about the choices they made and how it changed their lives."

"They'll answer the questions, Marshall. You know they will," Mary said.

"At what cost? Some of the questions will be hard on them and may sound judgmental. I'm not trying to judge, but I need to understand."

"Marshall, I've known Seth for a long time. He may not get you overall, but he knows that you need to have all the pieces of a puzzle together before you can completely be happy. It might bring up some bad memories. Your parents were strong enough to get through it back then, they'll handle it now. You're learning to adjust also, but they've had more time dealing with the past. It's almost time for you to leave. Call it a day and that's an order," Stan said.

"Thanks, both of you," Marshall said, grabbing his things.

"Call me if you need me," Mary ordered just before the elevator closed.

Mary looked to Stan.

"I know that Marshall is a lot better. He's had over a month to get used to the fact, but are you sure they're not going to set him back. I don't want to see him lost and hurt again."

"They both love him, Mary. They can't protect him from the past. It took us a week to help him deal with what Carson did to his mother. It wasn't Marshall's fault, but it might take awhile to sink in completely. He's had time to think about it and I'm guessing it brought up more questions. It's no longer about just him. He needs to see this from everyone's' perspectives or he'll always have doubts. Seth and Haley are aware of this. If he falls then we'll catch him and pick him up," Stan replied, and headed back to his office after Mary nodded in acknowledgment.

It didn't settle her fears though. She vividly recalled the way Marshall reacted to finding out Carson forced himself on Haley. He had taken six showers that night. Mary had stopped him before he tried to go for the seventh. She couldn't help, but think back to that moment.

"_Marshall, what the hell are you doing?" Mary asked walking into his bedroom when she heard the shower running again. _

"_Taking a shower," Marshall replied, as if it was the most obvious thing. _

"_You've done that several times already. I can guarantee you that after six showers you're clean." _

"_I'm never going to be clean, Mare. I'm a product of that filth that…" Marshall choked out before he couldn't speak and tears began to pour down his cheeks._

"_Oh, Marshall," Mary sat on the bed pulling Marshall's arm so that he was next to her. _

_Once he was seated she gently cupped his cheek and turned his face so she could look him in the eyes. _

"_You aren't dirty. Carson was a pig, but what he did to your mother is on him. None of it was your fault or responsibility. I know that you're struggling with this, but you don't have to do this alone or by using all the water in Albuquerque. Carson dirtied his own name and memory, but you are one of the purest people I know. Stop blaming yourself for his actions." _

"_He hurt her, Mare and I was the product and reminder of that. How do you think my brothers are going to react to that?" _

"_The same way the rest of us are. They feel bad for what your mother went through, but wouldn't change a thing because you wouldn't be here otherwise." _

"_I want to believe you, but it's hard to think of it as a blessing." _

"_It will take you time to adjust to that information. Stan and I are here for you. Don't try to handle this alone. I know you will let it tear you up inside if you do. Don't let Carson turn you into a shell of the person we've all come to know and love," Mary said, reaching up to wipe away the tears that continued to fall. "Lay down." _

_Marshall was too tired to fight so he did as Mary requested. When she slid in next to him and wrapped her arms around him and held him while he sobbed for his mother, father and himself. So much pain wrapped into a life he had once thought was perfect._

_Mary held on tightly. A part of her feared to let him go, afraid that he'd go to a dark place that would change the way he viewed the world. She didn't want him to become the bitter person she had after her father left her. _

The ringing of her phone brought her out of the memory and she sent up a quick prayer that Marshall would come out of this only slightly scarred.


	11. Chapter 11

Marshall paced his floor nervously waiting for his Mom to arrive. A part of him was fighting to keep the nausea down. He had spent the better part of the day his mother told him what happened to her when he was conceived in the bathroom. His stomach at least had the dignity to wait until his Mom left and finally relaxed after Mary had arrived. He didn't want a repeat of that.

The sound of the car pulling into the driveway had Marshall opening the door as his Mom walked up.

"Marshall, what's wrong?" She could tell he was anxious and agitated. Everything they had talked about was coming to a head and he probably had more questions then ever. She just hoped this would ease his mind.

"Do you want something to drink?" Marshall asked, stalling. Now that she was here he was afraid to ask his questions.

"We both know that isn't why I'm here. Let's sit down and you can ask anything you want. I've had thirty-eight years to deal with the past. You haven't even had two months."

"Why did you keep me? After what that monster did to you, why?"

"I always wanted to be a mother. That wasn't the way I had planned it to happen, but when I found out I was pregnant, I just couldn't imagine getting rid of the child I was carrying. Carson wasn't always an evil man. He changed after he started hanging around with the Conti's. I loved the man he once was and hated the man he became. He risked everything for money and I couldn't understand that. The only thing that I can tell you is that I don't regret my choice to keep you."

"What about now? How can you even stand to be around me?"

"Because I love you. From the second I found out I was pregnant, I loved you. Nothing that happened with Carson will ever change that. You're not him, Marshall. I don't see him when I look at you. The only thing I see is you. I'm thankful every day that I didn't end the pregnancy."

"Did you think about it?"

"Yes, I was scared Seth would leave me. I was head over heels about him, but if he couldn't accept you as his son, then I would've walked away. It petrified me that I might have to raise you alone and worried that I wouldn't be a good enough mother for you."

"Do Grandma and Grandpa Mann know?" Marshall asked, fear of being rejected by two people he loved dearly.

"Yes, we told them from the start. They didn't care. Seth and I had to get out of their way every time we visited them or they came to see us. You were their first grandchild and they had every intention of spoiling you rotten. Marshall, you know that blood doesn't make a family. In your line of work, you've seen a parent kill their own child for their own selfish reasons, and you've seen adoptive parents lay their life down to protect their child from harm. Seth never adopted you because we named him your father so he wouldn't have to. Everyone in this family loves you for who you are and won't disown you for something you had no control over. You always have been and always will be a Mann."

"But…." Marshall started, but Haley cut him off.

"The only people in this family who didn't know the truth were you and your brothers. Your great grandparents also knew. We didn't tell you because we were worried that you might accidentally let it slip out. We protected you the only way we knew how. It was wrong of us to not tell you when you were older. We put you at risk without thinking about it. To tell you the truth, by that time we were so used to you being our son that it never crossed my mind to bring up Carson. If the truth be told I never really even thought much about Carson himself. The only part of him that caused me concern was the Conti family. He was nothing more then the donor that helped bring you into this world. Everything you became was your doing. I'm very proud of you, Marshall. I have always and will always love you. That is the most important thing for you to know."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall was lying in bed when his phone went off. His mother had told him stories about Carson and how he was before the whole mess with Conti. She needed him to know that his biological father wasn't a completely terrible person. She had been more at ease talking about Carson without his Dad around, but it was still a sad subject for her.

Marshall switched the topic to how her and his Dad met after he switched to the FTF. It was good to see his mother smile. He felt a little better talking to her, but his conversation with his Dad frightened him.

The one thing he found out was that Seth didn't know until recently what Carson had done to his mother. It scared him to think that this would be the point that would forever drive a wedge between them.

Realizing the phone was ringing, he quickly picked it up.

"Hello," Marshall said, forgetting to check the caller id.

"So how did round one go?" Mary asked.

"Round one isn't as scary. It's round two that worries me."

"So you and your Mom talked through the things?"

"I still don't think I understand how she can look at me every day knowing what Carson did to her."

"Oddly enough, I don't think she evens sees him in you. I can't say for sure, but I would assume that if you looked more like Carson then it might have taken awhile to adjust. You keep forgetting she's had thirty-eight years to deal with the past."

"Is it weird that I'm not angry anymore? I thought it would take longer to get past it, but after hearing everything they went through, it doesn't somehow seem fair to be mad about it."

Mary smiled even though she knew Marshall couldn't see it. The one thing she knew about him was that if he cared enough about you then he would forgive a lot quicker than even she could comprehend.

"It's not strange, Marshall. You've always had a hard time hanging on to your anger. Add the facts in and there was no way you could stay mad at them. You were mad for over a month and for you that is a long time. They made mistakes, but always had your best interest at heart."

"I'm worried about tomorrow."

"Do you want me to stop by after work?"

"Why don't you make it a little later? I have a feeling that I'm going to need some alone time when all is said and done."

"Marshall, don't underestimate Seth. He's got a soft spot for you. It's just been hidden for a long time. You are not Carson and he knows that. Don't you forget that."

"Yeah, I'm tired. Talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight, Mare."

"Goodnight, Marshall." Mary said, before they disconnected.

She'd see him in less than twenty-four hours. She could make it that long without going mama bear on those around her. She could do it. If the nagging feeling of worry would just go away it would make things easier on her. Pounding her pillow to take out some of her aggravation she finally settled in for a restless night of sleep.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall found himself pacing the living room again. This time it was his Dad's turn. He felt like he was in a bad case of déjà vu when he heard the car park in the driveway. Heading towards the door, he opened it and let his Dad in.

Seth took a look at Marshall's face and knew right away that he didn't sleep well the night before. He hoped this conversation would help his son.

"Are you alright, Marshall?"

"I guess," Marshall replied, unsure of who was more uncomfortable.

"Why don't we just sit down, so you can start asking your questions?"

Marshall nodded and found himself in the opposite seats that he sat in the day before. It reminded him of when he was little. If any of them were in trouble his Dad would sit in the recliner and they would be on the couch. Somehow that felt appropriate at the moment.

Seth could tell Marshall was uneasy. He had a flashback of doing this when Marshall had wandered off on them at the grocery store. They had found him asking the butcher all sorts of questions, but it had scared him terribly when he couldn't find Marshall.

"We can switch seats if you'd be more comfortable," Seth volunteered.

Marshall shook his head no. He could feel his Dad's eyes on him and knew he was going to have to start asking. They couldn't put it off forever because he couldn't pretend that he didn't know.

"Why didn't you try to convince Mom to get rid of me?"

Seth felt like he'd been stabbed in the heart. He may not show it, but he did love Marshall. The insecurity he caused his son pained him in ways he never knew were possible.

"I loved her too much to do that. I'll admit when she told me I was shocked. It took me a few seconds to recover before I decided to continue with my proposal. There are some women in this world who are meant to be mothers from the word go and there are others who aren't, but eventually find their way. There are also woman who aren't or don't want to be. Your Mom fell into the first category. I wouldn't take that happiness from her."

"Why didn't you find someone else? Why stay with a woman carrying another's child? Especially the child of a man you despised." Marshall knew it was something he would do if he loved the woman enough, but couldn't imagine his father doing that.

"I couldn't stop thinking about Haley when I relocated to Seattle. Cal pulled some strings after Carson died and arranged to put your mother near me. I bumped into her in a store and it was like everything I'd felt for her in Utah had returned ten fold. Your mother was the woman I wanted to spend my life with. I tried dating others before she was moved to Seattle, but they never compared to her."

"Do you resent me?"

Seth hated that he had turned Marshall into a person who doubted his self worth. Standing up he moved so he could sit on the coffee table and see Marshall's eyes. They were the way to tell how he was responding to the information and if he actually understood what he was trying to tell him.

"I don't resent you. I don't hate you and I'm sorry if that is the impression that I gave you all these years. I was so worried about your sensitive nature and what would happen to you if Conti ever got a hold of you. I thought if you were tougher, stronger and harder around the edges that it would keep you safe. I tried to turn you into someone that you aren't. That wasn't fair to you."

"There has to be more than that. You always talk around things and what about now? You know what he did to her. How can you stand to look at me?"

"Marshall, what that so called man did to your mother was wrong. I hate Carson, but I always did. You were just as innocent in all of this as your mother. Looking at you is easy. When I see you, I see your mother. You inherited her greatest qualities. The only thing you ever inherited from Carson was your height. You don't have it in you to be the kind of person Carson was. When I look at you I see all that you accomplished and how proud of you I am. To me you will always be mine and your mother's son. Nothing can change that. Not even what Carson did to her."

Seth could tell Marshall was confused and he couldn't blame him. He had made their relationship so much harder than it ever had to be. Marshall was told some of the stories about when he was little, but Seth knew it was probably hard for him to imagine them ever being close.

"The truth is Marshall, I did something stupid in order to do what I thought would protect you. By the time I realized it, we were living in two separate worlds and I didn't have a clue how to close the gap. You have every right to question how I feel about you because I stopped showing you by the time you were four. That is also my fault. You have and always will be a Mann as far as our family is concerned. There isn't a member in this family who thought of you as anything less than my son. Your brothers were the only other ones who didn't know. We were trying to protect all of you. Conti was a sick bastard and he could've used any one of you kids to get his revenge. Your brothers he would've used to find out where you where. I meant what I said earlier. Victor would have hurt you mentally, emotionally and physically to extract his revenge. He was a firm believer in an eye for an eye. I wasn't willing to risk that. We weren't fair to you in all of this, but honestly by the time you were old enough to tell, our family was complete and I was scared that the truth would tear us apart."

Marshall felt like he was talking to a stranger. The last time they talked openly was just before the incident at the grocery store. He had always thought he shamed his father in some way by taking off.

"You were so angry with me that day," Marshall said, lost in the past.

"What day? Marshall, what are you talking about?" Seth knew the distant look in his son's eyes, but wasn't completely sure where he was at.

"The day at the grocery store, when you yelled at me your face had turned all red. You walked away from me when we got home and didn't come out until supper. The night before was the last time you actually talked to me. At supper you never said a word to me or looked my way. It was after that you started pushing me away."

Seth closed his eyes; he'd never made the connection. He was mad, but not at Marshall. The anger he felt had been towards himself.

"I wasn't mad at you. Scared and panicked and questioning what kind of father I was to lose my four year old son. I was a U.S. Marshal and couldn't keep track of you. All I could think was you were grabbed and what could be happening to you. The reason I didn't look at you was because you were next to your mother. I felt like I had failed her by letting you wander off and failed to protect you by not keeping a close enough eye on you. I was ashamed of me, never you. It was easier to talk to your brothers that night instead of reliving the fear I felt that day."

Marshall had to stop the sob that was trying to make its way out. All of these years wasted on misunderstandings and fears. He felt the tears begin to fill in his eyes and looked away from his Dad.

Seth saw what Marshall was doing and mentally cursed himself.

"Marshall, look at me, please."

The please caused Marshall to look. He had never heard that word from his Dad.

"Don't hide your pain or tears from me. I don't show them because a part of me is like your grandfather. There is nothing wrong with being able to freely express your emotions. Don't stop being who you are because of me. I love you for who you are not what you think I want you to be."

Seth hugged his son. It was then he realized the last time he had done this was when Marshall was four. It was as he felt Marshall's shoulders shake and the sob escape that it finally hit him full force. He'd been an absentee father in Marshall's life. Yes, he taught him things, but he stopped comforting him years before a child would be embarrassed by it.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary stared at the damn clock wishing her glare could make it move faster. She knew Marshall was talking to Seth today and she was worried for both of them. Her respect for Seth had grown after learning about him marrying Haley and raising Marshall as his own.

The only down side was the gap between the two was huge and she worried what could go wrong with this conversation. Deep down she hoped that Seth had realized how hard this was for Marshall and not resort to old habits. The last thing the two of them needed to do was get into a shouting match.

"What time are you supposed to go to Marshall's house?" Stan asked, after watching Mary glare at the clock for the last forty-five minutes.

"He told me to come a little after work," Mary replied.

"I know that you're worried, but Seth and Marshall need this talk even more than the one with Haley. Their relationship has been rocky at best. Let them work it out."

"What if they can't?"

"Mary, don't sell the two of them short. Marshall has been calling Seth, Dad again for a while now. They just need to iron out how they got to this point and start to rebuild again."

"How is Marshall going to get it when I have problems understanding?"

"Your partner is more forgiving then you have a tendency to be. Think about this, why is Marshall the one person you can't stay mad at? It's the same way with him and Seth. They love each other, but fear, pride and more than likely miscommunications led them to this point. Give them a chance to really talk to one another. If Marshall needs us, he'll call. In the meantime you can get more paperwork done," Stan said, returning to his office.

"You better cover our witnesses when that clock hits five because I'm out of here and won't be answering my phone," Mary warned, just before Stan closed his door.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall had lain down after his Dad left. He was so damn tired. Knowing Mary would be coming over; he decided to close his eyes after setting the alarm clock. He didn't really expect to need it, but just in case.

Mary knocked on the door before pulling out her key and quickly entering Marshall's house with her Glock drawn. Not seeing anyone in the living room, she headed towards the bedroom since she could hear the insistent buzzing of the alarm.

Opening the bedroom door slowly she noticed Marshall on top of the bed with his hands under his head. She couldn't help but smirk at the sight. Mary also knew that meant Marshall had only meant to close his eyes and escape for a little bit.

Moving closer she made sure his chest was rising and falling to be assured he was breathing. She quickly shut the alarm off and slipped her shoes off.

Making sure to not wake Marshall up she moved until she found the position she wanted. Wrapping an arm around his waist and placing her ear over his heart, she listed to the steady beat before it lulled her to sleep.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall woke up to see Mary watching his face intently.

"What time is it?"

"Eight. You must have been exhausted. Was it that bad or didn't you sleep that well last night?"

"I think Dad and I made some important realizations today. I just feel so drained and then I couldn't sleep last night. I was making myself nauseous."

"You could've called. I would've come over."

"I know. Can we not talk about this tonight? I would just like to watch a movie, eat and have a good time with my partner. I'm tired of dealing with all of this emotional baggage. I need a break, Mare."

"Pizza and a movie it is. I'll call for the pizza, you pick a movie."

"Deal," Marshall replied, knowing she was going out of her way to be nice to him. She never let him pick the movie.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/

Mary smiled as the movie credits rolled by and she noticed her partner asleep. They had watched a comedy, an action flick and finally the dreaded science fiction movie. Noting that it was almost midnight and if Marshall stayed where he was that he'd be sorer than hell, she gently shook his arm.

"What?" Marshall asked.

"Bed time for Doofus. You slept through the last part of the movie. Let's go."

Mary made sure he got changed and crawled into bed. She pulled the covers up higher on him and placed a kiss on his forehand.

"Sweet dreams, Marshall."

Mary turned to leave when his hand quickly grabbed hers.

"Stay?"

Mary noted he was smart enough to ask instead of order like she would.

"Alright. Make room while I go get my away bag."

Marshall nodded before Mary went to get her things.

Walking out of the bathroom, Mary slid in under the covers. Marshall was already asleep. When she was comfortable she felt him wrap his arms around her and pull her closer to him. It was the first time she could recall when she didn't feel trapped by strong arms surrounding. That was the last thought she had before sleep claimed her.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Three months had passed since Marshall's talk with his parents. Mary and Stan had been making sure to spend time with him. He was doing much better and seemed to be getting along with Seth.

Mary had to admit she was secretly pleased by that fact. That soft spot she had for Seth never completely left and only seemed to grow with each and every day. Marshall never brought up Carson and Mary wasn't sure if it was because of what the man had done to his mother or the fact that he would never know anything about him.

Marshall had opened up and told her about his conversation with Seth the following morning over breakfast. Since then, she and Stan noticed the major improvements in Marshall.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Marshall's desk phone ringing.

"Mann."

She watched as he talked for awhile before hanging up. Stan entered to get coffee and Marshall looked to him.

"Stan, would it be okay if I took the rest of the day off?" Dad is in town and would like to get together with me."

"Not a problem. If something comes up, Mary and I will handle it."

"Hey, ask a girl before volunteering her," Mary huffed.

"You're not a girl," Marshall replied, with a smirk.

Mary threw him a glare, but couldn't keep the smile off her face. That was the Marshall she knew.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Seth saw Marshall pull his SUV into the driveway as he rounded the corner. Pulling in behind his son, he looked at the packet next to him. A part of him wanted to ignore it and leave things the way they were. Marshall and Haley were talking every night again and he had even joined in their conversations.

The whole family had become closer since this started. Neal and Danny were planning a trip out with their families to visit Marshall and talking to him at least once a week. Things were good. Like they had been when Marshall was little. The envelope could reopen wounds, but he had promised no more lies.

Cal had managed to get a copy of some photos of Carson, his family and any other information they had obtained when he was in WITSEC. Marshall had the right to know his other family.

Grabbing the envelope he greeted Marshall and followed him into the house.

"So what brings you out to Albuquerque?"

"Cal stopped by to drop something off for you."

"Uncle Cal?" Marshall asked surprised, noting the envelope in his Dad's hands.

"That would be the one. He pulled some strings and sent me this packet."

Marshall took the packet in his hands.

"What's in it?"

"The information you've been looking for."

Seth saw the baffled look on Marshall's face.

"It's everything you wanted to know about your father."

Marshall finally made the connection. Not sure why he didn't earlier. He looked at the envelope before looking back to Seth. In the back of his mind he heard his brother's question. '_What makes a father?' _ It's when he finally realized the full truth since he found out about Carson.

"I already know my father. He's the man who read to me when I was little, the one I'd wait by the window to come home, the man who taught me how to ride my bike, play catch, ride a horse and shoot a gun. He's the man that I'm proud to call Dad. I've known my father my whole life."


End file.
